Night and Day
by ShiroMoon
Summary: Ulquiorra is a repressed prosecutor who finds himself entranced by an unpredictable aspiring wrestler. They meet by chance and realize their attraction. But what started off as a simple night of passion turns into something neither of them bargained for when they find themselves forced together and bonding over an adventure neither of them could have foreseen. AU, GrimmUlqui.
1. Azura eyes

Chapter 1

Introduction

The soft ticking of the clock was the first thing Ulquiorra Cifer heard as he began to slowly wake and he didn't even have to open his eyes to know what time in the morning it was. He always woke up at exactly 7:00 in the morning. Not even waiting for his body to completely wake up, he heaved himself from his bed.

Now he needed to shower and dress. So he did, he took a quick but thorough shower—duly noted that he was running low on shampoo— and then dressed himself in a pair of dress pants and a dress shirt before seating himself at the table. He ate slowly, knowing he wouldn't have to be at his job for at least twenty minutes.

He paused his chewing. _Has this cereal always tasted so bland? _He sighed through his nose and continued eating the same cereal he had eaten for at least a year. Why was he suddenly noticing now? And why did it matter anyway? There was no point in questioning such things. His eyes wandered the room for no particular reason, instantly catching sight of the phone.

_Why exactly do I still have that? _He found himself asking. _Do I have it to keep that area from looking barren? I don't exactly find time within my day to speak to others, let alone give out my phone number. I can only imagine they'd interrupt my work. _He rested a chin upon his hand, eyes sweeping the room.

When Ulquiorra found nothing else that seemed too useless within the room, he glanced at the clock. He needed to be out the door in about fifteen minutes. He looked down to take another bite of his cereal to find that the milk had turned it to mush, making it look even more undesirable. Ulquiorra threw it out and headed upstairs for a tie and a jacket before heading out into the chilly air that the month of April often brought, though the sun shone brightly in the cloudless sky to make up for the cold.

If he was correct, he had just the right amount of time to grab some coffee on his way to work.

* * *

Ulquiorra was right in his assumption and reached the small coffee shop near his office building with ease. Through the windows, he could see a large crowd of people inside as well as a line that went right to the door. He had anticipated the line as there always was a line at this time in the morning, but it didn't mean he was used to it. Ulquiorra didn't hate many things in life-to be more exact he _tolerated_ a lot of things- but he absolutely couldn't stand waiting in lines. He didn't like the feeling of being smothered between moody people like some kind of overstuffed sandwich.

But it was in his routine to get coffee and to be breaking that routine would be very odd for him so he opened the door and strolled into the shop. It also meant he'd be going to work several minutes too early for the trial which meant people would most likely try to speak to him which was the last thing he wanted. _Perfect. _The crowd was even worse than usual inside. The idea of being smashed up against people became less and less appealing but before he could leave, a large man entered behind him and to avoid contact, Ulquiorra strode forward and ended up in line.

He checked his watch and found he had at least ten minutes before he needed to be in the office. Listening to people complain and pardon themselves as they bumped into other people—as they did every single day when they came here— made him feel even less eager to go into work and deal with people's problems. At least he got paid for it.

He stuffed his hands into his pockets and was shoved forward as a man entered the store behind the large man behind him, causing them both to ram into each other and effectively pushing Ulquiorra into the woman in front of him. Ulquiorra mumbled a quiet, insincere apology as the woman sighed angrily and waited another few minutes. He checked his watch and noted that he would most likely be on time.

He finally stepped up to the counter (the cashier looked as bored and stressed as he always did), placed his order and waited and the instant they gave it to him, he hastily paid and headed out the door. He instantly took a left and began to walk at a brisk pace towards the corner. Just as he rounded it however, someone came hurtling out around the corner and slammed into him, spilling scorching coffee all over his shirt and jacket!

Well, _that_ was unexpected. Truthfully he was so surprised at the sudden break in his routine to be angry and instead felt a dull feeling of surprise. He looked up from his soiled shirt, his eyes first catching sight of the coffee stains on the man's shirt. He felt some sense of satisfaction. _An eye for an eye._

"What the fuck? Are you blind, asshole?!" the man's voice growled.

Well if the man was that intent on yelling at him, Ulquiorra supposed two could play at this and looked up to prepare a retort about the man's choice of words, only to find his words die in his throat when his breath was stolen by a pair of intense, bright blue eyes.

The man above him was unlike many Ulquiorra had seen in passing in this area of the city. He had a messy head of shocking blue hair the same color as his eyes, a boyish face and his lips were turned down in a scowl. He had an air about him that screamed that he was different and dangerous and he wasn't afraid to show it.

It had been a long time since Ulquiorra had seen a fire like the one that burned within those blue eyes and before he had even realized it, this man had already broken his routine. And he was about to do a whole lot more.

And Ulquiorra said, "My sight is perfectly fine. _You_ were the one who barreled into me. Now give me something to clean up your mess."

* * *

Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez had woken up in a good mood. He had woken up to the realization that he was _finally_ in America after years of wanting to travel here to pursue a career in boxing. The fighters in Japan weren't bad, but after a while he decided he needed new, fierce opponents. He had heard of a popular place in New York that had trained some of the most famous fighters there were. Two fighters he idolized in particular he had heard were having a match there in a month. It was a world-wide event. And he'd be damned before he missed it! And not only was he going to watch a match but he planned to participate in one.

He was scheduled to turn up for a practice match before they decided if he was strong enough to work for the company. He would go there, demonstrate his skills and hope they were smart enough to recognize talent when they saw it because if he had the chance to go fist-to-fist with his _idols_ and kick their asses, he couldn't even begin to imagine the respect and fame he'd be given!

So he had rolled out of bed, quickly showered, grabbed some breakfast and moved swiftly to the bus stop. New York was really not much different from Tokyo. It was just as noisy, crowded and over hyped. But it reeked of adventure and possibility. The bus stop was across the street and he saw the bus he needed to take pull up beside it. "Fuck." He growled before breaking into a run and—ramming into someone and nearly falling flat on his back!

He staggered backwards, clutching his ribs and felt warm liquid on his shirt. He looked down and found that coffee had been spilled all over his shirt. He looked up in time to see his bus driving away and he was instantly angered. "What the fuck?! Are you blind, asshole?" he exclaimed.

The man was examining his own shirt and Grimmjow normally would have smirked when he realized that he also had coffee spilled on him but he was too angry right now. Now because of him, Grimmjow's shirt was ruined and he had missed his bus!

The man met his gaze and Grimmjow found himself staring into a pair of cold, bright green eyes. His lip curled. _The fuck is he looking at me like that for? He's the one who walked right out behind a corner! Who the hell does that? You don't cling to the corner when you move around it! Otherwise this shit happens. It doesn't help that he's so short, he's practically invisible!_ The man in front of him was a good few inches shorter than he was, he had a head of somewhat messy (but very soft looking) black hair, very fair, smooth looking skin and a heart shaped face and...in all honesty, Grimmjow couldn't help but notice he was actually pretty damn good looking and-

"My sight is perfectly fine. _You_ were the one who barreled into me. Now, give me something to clean up your mess."

Whatever thoughts Grimmjow had had about his appearance flew out the window the instant he opened his mouth.

Grimmjow was instantly outraged! The guy smashed into him, spilled _his _coffee on him and then had the nerve to suggest it was _his_ mess? He snapped, "It's your own damn coffee! And guess what, I just missed my bus because of you!" the shorter man said, "And you made me spill it. And you can't blame your problem with the bus on me. You should have left earlier."

"Aw that's sweet, thanks for worrying about me. Dick." Grimmjow snapped and then noticed the napkins lying on the floor, dropped by the man when they rammed into each other. The man had noticed it to. Grimmjow made the first move and lunged for it but the green-eyed man got to it before he did and snatched it up before proceeding to blot at his chest and stomach with it. Grimmjow watched this and noticed that since the wet parts of his shirt clung to his stomach, that he seemed to have some decent muscles on him which was surprising for such a shrimpy looking-

"You spilled your damn coffee on me, you owe me! Give me something to dry it up with!" Grimmjow said, making to grab it only to have the man cover it with his hands and say, "I don't need to do anything for you. Now leave."

Grimmjow balled his fists. "You little—," the man interrupted, still patting his chest and stomach dry, "You still seem to be insistent that I am the one at fault so let me enlighten you; you were racing to your destination and when people do this, they are hardly aware of people around them which is a foolish thing to—,"

Grimmjow lost his patience and lunged for the napkins and grabbed onto half of it. He smirked and said, "If you weren't so short, maybe I'd have noticed you! And who the hell pays that much attention to detail anyway?"

"Perhaps it wouldn't kill you to do the same? And I am not that short." the shorter male replied coldly and Grimmjow was annoyed to hear that his tone wasn't anywhere near angered and more judgmental. "Yeah you are. You weren't looking where you were going either!" Grimmjow retorted. "Neither were you." the other argued. "Oh so you admit it, then?" Grimmjow said, grinning. "What I was doing doesn't matter, it doesn't change the fact that you didn't even bother to deny you weren't looking either."

He tugged on the napkin, wrenching Grimmjow closer to him and Grimmjow noticed he was actually quite strong for his size. "Give it to me, dammit!" At this point, both of them knew the napkins wouldn't help at all. But they were both too prideful to back down. The other male replied monotonously, "Make me." Grimmjow snapped, "And stop fuckin' talking to me like I'm a moron!"

"You aren't making it that easy." and Grimmjow's mouth fell open. Oh two could play at this...Grimmjow's hand shot out and seized the front of his tie and wrenched him forward by it, bringing them barely a few inches apart and he saw that stoic mask crack a little as those dull emerald eyes widened in surprise. Grimmjow smirked and slid a hand up the smaller man's shirt and taking a hold of his hand. The man had gone deathly still and Grimmjow could feel his slow, unsure breath against his cheek. He chuckled. "I have a habit of doing that." He said, staring into the other man's eyes. For a little asshole, this guy had a pretty decent pair of eyes, didn't he? "What's wrong? You're all quiet now." Grimmjow murmured.

"Get out of my face." was the other man's reply, his emerald eyes never breaking the stare though his voice was more quiet than before. Grimmjow also noticed his posture hadn't been broken. Despite the clear fact that he was uncomfortable, he was still trying to act as if he was in charge of the situation. Grimmjow chuckled. He liked it, the shorter male's idea of his own superiority made Grimmjow annoyed but it also excited him. He liked a challenge and he'd been missing it for a long time. "Then push me back." he challenged. And he saw a look of confusion cloud the man's eyes, confusion at what Grimmjow could only guess but given that the man hadn't shoved him away yet, Grimmjow could only assume-

And Grimmjow managed to wrench the napkin from his hand and began attempting to soak up most of the stains. The man's wide eyes narrowed into a glare and he said, his stoic tone laced with annoyance he tried to suppress, "You-," Grimmjow smirked. "Nice to see you finally gettin' annoyed at me, pretty boy. Nice to know you like me, too! I'm touched!" he said, beginning to take confident strides backwards. "Maybe next time, I'll even give ya a kiss." and he saw the man's lips form a thin line as a thick brow narrowed in dislike.

"Your bus is here." He informed, cold green eyes staring at something behind him. Grimmjow cautiously turned and realized he was right, his bus had just stopped across the street.

"Thanks, honey." Grimmjow said with a wide grin, beginning to walk away. He checked his watch. And he'd actually be right on time, excellent! And, laughing at the look of repressed anger on the man's face, he turned and bounced away towards his bus.

* * *

Ulquiorra wasn't the type to anger easily, but he walked to work fighting back a scowl. He was going to be late now because of that buffoon. He was _never _late. His scowl nearly slipped out.

That man had completely messed up his schedule. And what was worse was that Ulquiorra let him. _I didn't have to stop and argue with him. Why did I? No. A better question would be...why didn't I push him away? I cannot stand it when people invade my space.  
_He couldn't accept that the blue haired man had gotten the better of him so, he did what he always did when he was confused. He came up with a solution-or just a blatant excuse- that benefited himself. _I was right on all accounts, I suppose I can let him think he got the upper-hand. Besides I am not in a hurry to get arrested for assault. _Even he knew that was pathetic but he didn't have time to think about it, nor did he want to.

He arrived to work fifteen minutes late and instantly headed towards the courtroom, ignoring the stares he got from the coffee stains on the front of his suit. He hastily hurried into the bathroom and got a paper towel, wet it and walked briskly out and towards the courtroom door. He dabbed and rubbed at his shirt and sighed when nothing worked. _Get it over with. _He buttoned up his suit, pushed open the large door and headed inside.

The defense attorney stopped speaking and all heads in the room turned as Ulquiorra entered and headed to the lectern closest to the Judge and prepared to prosecute a man accused of a hit-and-run that he claimed was an accident even though several people who knew him had determined he had had unfriendly ties to the victim.

It was an easy trial, as to be expected of someone with Ulquiorra's experience and training and the fact that there was practically no reason to be having it in the first place. If none of them were smart enough to see he was guilty after all the evidence against him, then they were fools.

But all throughout the trial, Ulquiorra's mind kept slipping back to the reason he was so late and had coffee spilled over his front. No matter how hard he tried, he could not get those piercing blue eyes out of his mind. And as he sat in his office and thought back on the trial, he knew why.

Because no one sitting in that courtroom had that electrifying look that that blue haired man did; that look that promised danger. No one in Ulquiorra's little world of courtrooms trials and prosecutions had that same unpredictability Ulquiorra had seen today from a complete stranger.

And no one in a very long time had been able to nearly provoke Ulquiorra into a fight. Especially not over spilled coffee.

And before he knew it, his lunch break was over. It was time to get his mind back into work. Besides, thinking about that stranger wasn't going to help him get through his day. And with that thought in mind, he forcefully stood and exited his office and headed back down the hall to his next trial.

As he closed his office door however, he looked up and found the Judge, Starrk, standing outside. Ulquiorra paused, unsure what the man was here for as it was rare to see him in the offices after a trial. Normally after every trial he would go to his quarters and sleep until his niece Lillynette, who normally visited, punched him awake for the next one.

Ulquiorra's opinion on him hadn't been very high at first and he had wondered how on earth such a lazy individual got the job until he walked into court and realized it must have been the calming effect he had because he honestly couldn't think of any other reasons why he was given the job. He always looked ready to fall asleep during court and his voice was enough to lull anyone asleep within moments which kept the courtroom rather quiet.

"Sir, I would like to apologize for my absence." Starrk said tiredly, "No need. All that matters was that you prosecuted the guy. It was a bit of a dull case if you ask me. I knew you'd do good."

"Thank you, sir. Is there anything you need?" Ulquiorra asked. Starrk said, "Huh? Oh yeah. There was. Listen, how about you meet me at The Intoxicated Horse later on tonight for a round or two?"

Ulquiorra hadn't been expecting that. He knew that Starrk had a few drinking buddies he was invited out with every now and then but he didn't know why Starrk was asking him of all people. "I've never had an interest in bars or in drinking for that matter. So I'll have to recline." Ulquiorra said, turning to walk away.

Starrk said, "Oh come on, Ulquiorra! How often do you get out? Besides Shunsui's inviting a really good prosecutor to meet us. Who knows, maybe he could teach you a thing or two?"

Ulquiorra wasn't sure about that. He was confident in his abilities and he wasn't interested in what other people thought he should be doing better. He had done well enough on his own so far.

Ulquiorra said, "I doubt it."

Starrk said, "That's what they all say. Don't turn down an opportunity to learn something, Cifer. You're smart enough to accept advice, aren't you? Do what you want, I just think it would be a bad idea to miss out." And with a yawn, Starrk strode off.

Ulquiorra watched him leave and then began to walk away, thinking over what Starrk had just told him.

_He does have a point. If it will better my career, I'd be a fool to miss out. I suppose I'll go, then._

* * *

And so, later that night, Ulquiorra was standing outside The Intoxicated Horse which (judging by its design) was an attempt at the old fashioned pubs that might be found in England, waiting for Starrk and his group to show up. While he waited, a light rain started to fall and he leaned against the building with a sigh.

_As expected, Starrk can't even make it to his own meet up, _Ulquiorra thought, checking his watch to find that they should have been here nearly forty minutes ago. He decided he'd waited long enough and turned to head home when he paused, feeling someone's eyes on his back. He looked over his shoulder and instantly was displeased by who he saw standing behind him.

The head of blue hair was unmistakable and so was the scowl on his face that deepened to show he instantly recognized Ulquiorra as well. "Fancy seeing you again, Tightass." The other man sneered. Ulquiorra said, "It is by no means pleasant for me, either."

The man strode closer to the door of the bar and said, "What, seein' me or your tightass?" Ulquiorra was quiet and the man let a smirk slip onto his face, his upper lip lifting to reveal a set of gleaming teeth. The smirk was almost feral.

"Didn't consider you the drinking type." The laid-back, baritone voice rumbled. Ulquiorra said, "If my spilling coffee all over you this morning wasn't enough of an implication that I do drink, I don't know what else is."

"I didn't mean that kind of drink, you—," the cyan eyed man said impatiently. Ulquiorra replied tiredly, "Yes, that part was painfully obvious. I'm not here entirely of my will. It's for business and I am supposed to be meeting some people here."

"Yeah I could tell this morning you weren't the type to get out often. You dress like a stuck up asshole, you talk like one—,"

Ulquiorra instantly pointed out, "What might one assume from your choice of words, then?"

The man went quiet and then smirked and said, "Shit. I guess we do have something in common after all! Friends then, pretty boy?" and he mockingly extended a hand, those electric blue eyes lighting up under the orange light of the lantern hanging from the awning above their heads.

Ulquiorra looked away from him and back out into the rainy streets. The taller man shoved his hand back into his pockets and Ulquiorra turned to him as the man headed into the building. He called, "Those friends of yours might be inside, you know." Ulquiorra was about to say he had already checked but decided that while he was here, he might at least wait inside where it was warm.

As he entered the bar, the sounds of obnoxious laughter, overlapping chatter and loud rock music playing from the bar could be heard. The smell of smoke from the back room was in the air as well. Ulquiorra hesitated in the doorway.

_It is already obvious I don't belong here. I should go home._

More people entered behind him and a woman asked to move by and Ulquiorra stepped aside but lingered to the left of the door. The man ahead of him however seemed completely at ease in this bar however which didn't surprise Ulquiorra. He had seemed like the type to frequent these kinds of places.

The tall, blue haired man halted by the counter. He looked over his shoulder and Ulquiorra realized he was waiting for him. "Well if you're gonna wait; you might as well sit down." The man offered, seating himself at the bar.

Ulquiorra supposed he was right, though he doubted more and more that Starrk would ever get here. Ulquiorra strode to a seat by the window and relaxed in it and saw the man look away from him and towards the counter.

Within moments of looking the place over, Ulquiorra decided the man sitting at the bar was the least annoying person to look at, as well as the most interesting even if it was just his back he was staring at. But that decision wasn't of his free will. He just seemed to draw your attention, whether you wanted it or not. The bartender greeted him as "Grimmjow."

_Unusual name, _Ulquiorra noted.

A few minutes passed and Ulquiorra grew restless while Grimmjow ordered a drink and Ulquiorra, out of boredom, watched as he grew tipsy after only a few more. Why was he sitting here? Starrk wasn't coming; it was becoming painfully obvious now. His fingers unconsciously began to drum against the table and his brow tightened as his annoyance grew. He could feel Grimmjow's stare on him but when he looked over to ask him to stop staring, he realized that the look had gone from a look of dislike to a more…seductive glare. Ulquiorra looked away.

_Perfect._

"Getting impatient are we?" Grimmjow's voice, almost a purr, asked from next to him. Ulquiorra looked over to find that Grimmjow was sitting across him now, clutching a half empty bottle in his hand. Ulquiorra sighed. He wasn't in the mood to deal with this man, drunk or not so he told Grimmjow just this. "You're drunk and I am not in the mood to deal with it. Leave." Grimmjow said cheerfully, "Drunk? Me? Nah, this stuff is strong enough to get you a bit tipsy after a few sips…but no need to worry. I've drunk enough to know how to handle—,"

"You shouldn't be speaking to me. Not after what happened this morning—unless you're planning something." Grimmjow took another gulp from his bottle and said, his voice a little slurred, "Oh that? I don't really give a fuck anymore. Anyway, ain't you the one who went to work with shit all over 'im? Consider us even, hmm? You know what? You ain't half bad looking—for a tight ass." That last comment was spoken in a seductive tone.

Ulquiorra tensed at the last word uttered by him and Grimmjow saw this and chuckled. "It ain't every day you find guys who're pretty." He teased and Ulquiorra moved a little further back into his seat as Grimmjow moved closer. Ulquiorra felt even tenser now...but strangely, not because he was nervous but rather he was uncomfortable...but not for reasons he was familiar with. He absolutely couldn't stand having his space invaded but for some reason, the idea of having Grimmjow closer wasn't an unpleasant thought, which was one of the reasons why he was so uncomfortable right now.

"Sit down." Ulquiorra insisted, wanting room to think about why exactly he was feeling the way he was towards Grimmjow. Grimmjow asked impatiently, "Why, so you can go back to waiting for someone who ain't ever gonna get here? Tell me, pretty boy—," Grimmjow began, seating himself on the table.

"Ulquiorra."

He gave a nod. "Tell me, Ulquiorra," Ulquiorra's breath hitched just slightly when Grimmjow's deep baritone purred his name, "When's the last time you let yourself go? You said you're here on business—so, what? So you don't ever go out to drink unless it's for business?" Grimmjow asked, stroking Ulquiorra's tie as he spoke.

Ulquiorra was finding it hard to concentrate with Grimmjow's face so close to his so he took a moment to reply. "I—don't see a point in—," as he paused to collect his thought, he tore his gaze away from Grimmjow's and took a hold of his tie and slid it from Grimmjow's hand, "In going out unless I'm on business. I wouldn't benefit from such a thing, would I?"

Grimmjow clicked his tongue, "Dammit, you're boring as hell."

"Then leave. It is already strange enough that you're speaking to me. If I recall, this morning you hated me. And I wasn't too fond of you myself."

"What, so I can't be attracted to someone I don't like?" Grimmjow asked and Ulquiorra paused in his reply, surprised by Grimmjow's choice of words.

"You're bringing _attraction_ into this? After the way we met? That's foolish. It makes no sense." Ulquiorra argued.

"Let me tell you something, Ulquiorra. I don't have to like you, to fuck you. All I know right now is you look sexy as fuck in that suit. And that makes perfect sense to me. And you," he reached out a hand and placed it under Ulquiorra's chin.

Grimmjow tilted his chin upwards and moved further across the table, leaning his head down until his breath ghosted against Ulquiorra's lips. "—haven't been able to take your eyes off me since we entered this place. Don't deny it. So…have you got somethin' you wanna tell me, Ul-qui-or-ra? Or would that be too...'foolish' for you?" he asked, a slowly widening grin stretching across his face.

Ulquiorra glanced down at the mischievous grin and at those strangely soft looking lips and then back up at him. "No." he answered and Grimmjow asked, "When's the last time you unwound with someone?"

"Never. To do that, I would have to have an interest in someone. People—are far too predictable for my tastes."

"I can change that." Grimmjow didn't seem to be tipsy anymore, he spoke very seriously and for a moment Ulquiorra was almost tempted by the sincerity in those words and by the promise of all that could transpire between them if he chose to go. But he was certain if there was anyone who could surprise him, it was this man.

And when he saw that Ulquiorra was actually conflicted Grimmjow whispered, "I'll give you a choice. You can come home with me and do somethin' you ain't ever done before—or you can stay here and keep waiting on someone who probably should'a been here two hours ago."

Ulquiorra's throat felt dry and words were not on hand. This was his chance to push him away now, something he failed to do this morning when the man had first invaded his space. So...why couldn't he? Grimmjow smirked. "Just in case you need more persuading." And he tipped Ulquiorra's chin up, leaned his head down, and before Ulquiorra could protest, placed a deep kiss to Ulquiorra's lips.

Ulquiorra wasn't an impulsive person. He rarely ever followed urges. But the unpredictability of this man and of the kiss he just gave him was the reason Ulquiorra was tempted to break the kiss and ask him to lead the way out of the bar. But he didn't because next came the tongue that teasingly rubbed against his lower lip and the hand that curled in his hair to deepen the kiss. "Don't think. _Feel_." Grimmjow whispered, separating by inches so that his lips brushed teasingly against Ulquiorra's, his voice low and he leaned back in for another one and Ulquiorra found himself slowly slipping his eyes closed this time and found that when he did that all he could notice was how soft his lips were, how warm they were and just how strangely good it felt. And as his mind slowly began to fog, making thinking impossible, Ulquiorra realized that he knew he couldn't push him away. Because he wanted this. He wanted this more than he had wanted anything in a long time. And Ulquiorra found himself sitting up and lifting a hand to Grimmjow's cheek simply out of instinct. He caught himself however, unsure if what he was doing was right.

Grimmjow shifted closer and wrapped an arm around his hips and pulled him tight against him. His hands were warm and he could feel their bodies pressing tight up against each other. All Ulquiorra could breathe now was his scent and it was growing steadily more intoxicating. Curiously, Ulquiorra's hand slid past his cheek to curl in his hair and found himself tugging him closer, deepening the kiss and he heard Grimmjow growl against his lips. That sound spurred a smaller, quieter one from the back of his throat which surprised himself and Ulquiorra found himself wanting to hear more of that sound from Grimmjow.

And to Ulquiorra's disappointment, Grimmjow pulled away, leaving them both breathless. Grimmjow said breathlessly but still with a smirk, "So, what'll it be, Ulquiorra?"

And Ulquiorra knew right then and there that he'd have been a fool to say no.

* * *

Author's notes; And so we have the beginnings of a new story! And it feels cheesy as all hell to me. But I have to admit, I am pretty excited about this one. It'll probably start off slow but build more and more and get more exciting eventually. I have the basic idea but I haven't worked out all the chapters, nor do I know how long it will be but I am eager to find out. Hopefully anyone who reads this will await the next chapter and be surprised with what will happen in the future because I sure am. I really wanted to write something like this for a while, where Ulquiorra is a repressed guy who lives a very isolated life whereas Grimmjow is the polar opposite and they meet and sparks fly and the like. Hopefully they are both kept as IC as they could be for an AU setting.

Anyways, I hope there was some enjoyment to be found in this chapter! Till later, then!


	2. The morning after

Chapter 2

Ulquiorra awoke to the soft ticking of the clock. He didn't open his eyes as he already knew what time it was and with a sigh, knew he'd have to pull himself from bed to begin his day. So he turned around to push his legs over the side only to feel them collide with something that felt like a leg.

With a start, he opened his eyes and found himself staring at a strong backside and a shock of aqua hair. It was then that his groggy mind reminded him of the events from last night and now that his mind wasn't fogged with Grimmjow's seductive words and kisses, he was surprised at himself.

Since when was he so easily ensnared by another person? And since when was that person someone like Grimmjow? He wanted to feel more annoyed at himself but to his great surprise, he couldn't say he regretted anything that had happened last night. It wasn't everyday he met people like Grimmjow and he knew that was why he had accompanied him home.

He was jolted out of his thoughts when the blue haired owner of the bed rolled over with a tired groan and draped an arm across his chest. Ulquiorra looked down with surprise, not having taken him for a cuddler and realized he was barely awake and nuzzling his head into his shoulder. He tensed a little; as strange as it was considering all that they'd done, he still wasn't used to being touched by another person, mostly because this was a completely different kind of touch in comparison, even if it was unintentional.

It was affectionate and Ulquiorra was unsure how to respond to it. He had only just gotten used to replying to lustful, exploratory touches. He stared down at Grimmjow's relaxed face, buried in his chest, and felt an unexpected feeling of affection in his chest. Hesitantly, he lifted a hand and rested it on his warm, strong shoulder. When Grimmjow didn't wake, Ulquiorra found himself taking another step and draping his arm around his shoulders.

He paused, surprised at himself. Before he could consider removing it, Grimmjow suddenly wrapped his arms tightly around his shoulders, pulling Ulquiorra tightly to him. Ulquiorra was very surprised by this and was still momentarily as Grimmjow nuzzled his head into his chest. Ulquiorra slowly relaxed and even found himself lying back against the pillows and tightening his hold around Grimmjow as his eyes slipped closed.

They had only spent a night together but Ulquiorra was quickly finding himself feeling so many different, exciting things with this complete stranger than he had with most people he met for an hour.

But just as he was getting ready to drift asleep, Grimmjow tensed and then instantly jumped awake and his warmth was gone from Ulquiorra's body as he sat up and stared at him in confusion. "The hell are you doing here?" he asked none too gently.

"I wasn't aware you asked me to leave." Ulquiorra said.

Grimmjow looked confused but in a way that Ulquiorra found somewhat alluring due to the scowl he wore. Grimmjow shook his head as if deciding it didn't matter. He rolled onto his back and combed a hand through his messy, sky blue hair and said, "Whatever. Just don't get comfortable."

Ulquiorra was quiet, realizing he had much preferred this man's attitude when he was asleep and he turned away and found himself staring at what must have been a hotel room. _He is staying in a hotel? He acts so confident I'd have thought he'd been living in New York for years. _He glanced at the clock and felt a jolt of surprise hit him when he realized that it was not 7:00 at all but 12:30!

Ulquiorra found himself staring in surprise, alarmed (and a little disturbed) at how far he'd strayed from his routine. Grimmjow chuckled. "I'm guessing you've never been up this late in the day before. Christ, is there anything you _have_ done?" Ulquiorra fell back against the sheets with a sigh, unable to register how he'd let this happen. This was the first time he'd be late since he started working there four years ago. But strangely enough, he couldn't bring himself to regret any of it.

"If the fact that I've never been out drinking before isn't enough of an inclination, then no." Ulquiorra responded, looking over at him. Grimmjow's brows furrowed. "Seriously?"

"May I use your shower?" he asked, sitting up a little. He hesitated, not entirely ready to simply walk to the bathroom completely naked while feeling Grimmjow's piercing blue eyes on him. He knew modesty at this point was useless but he still wasn't ready to dispense with it.

He spotted his pants lying on the floor close to the bed and he reached down to grab them and Grimmjow said somewhat exasperatedly, "What the hell are you trying to be so preserved about, pretty boy? I've already seen everything on you! In fact you could walk round my hotel room naked at this point. Hell, I'd kinda like that…" he added. Ulquiorra gave him a look. "What?" Grimmjow asked, annoyed at the look he was being given.

Now that he'd drawn attention to it Ulquiorra felt even less inclined to get up. Grimmjow sighed and rolled onto his side to face away from him with a grumble. Ulquiorra stood and asked, "Your bathroom?" Grimmjow lifted a thumb and gestured at the door to the left. "Ah." was his curt reply. And he heard the soft thud of bare feet upon the carpet as Ulquiorra stood and headed into the bathroom. Only moments later he heard the shower go on and he rolled over and latched onto the pillow Ulquiorra had been using to find he could smell the man's scent on the soft fabric when he took in a relaxed breath.

Grimmjow breathed in, vaguely recalling how arousing he'd found his scent only a few hours ago and how much he'd liked the smell of sweat mixed in with it. In all honesty, most of last night was a blur. He could remember learning the guy's name but he couldn't really even remember how Ulquiorra came home with him. All he really could remember was that his night with Ulquiorra had given Grimmjow a new outlook on him.

And that new realization was that the man's repression and lack of experience had surprisingly made him the best fuck Grimmjow had had in a while. Most of the guys that caught his eyes were more like himself; they were outgoing and therefore had more experience with sex. But the fact that Ulquiorra had been a virgin—and a deeply repressed one at that—had made things more interesting. In fact, Grimmjow had practically guided him through the experience, which gave him a slight feeling of affection for the other and his lack of knowledge. Not that he'd admit that.

His reactions to the simplest touches had been stronger than most others would have been. To Grimmjow's annoyance most of those reactions Ulquiorra had given him were restrained at first but that had just made it more satisfying when he did stop holding back. He could recall most of the sounds he made were rusty (and rather quiet but Grimmjow had had him pegged for a quiet one) which only reminded him more that this guy never let himself go and in turn, only further excited him to know that he had the pleasure of being the one to elicit those sounds from him.

His voice had been pleasant and though Grimmjow originally thought it cold and vacant of emotion, it certainly hadn't been as the night wore on and Grimmjow had begun to find his voice had a velvety, seductive quality to it. And even when he was speaking normally it still sounded strangely seductive in its deep, smooth tones.

In short, Grimmjow was more satisfied by this experience than he had been in a long time. And he wanted to relive it again before the other man had to leave to go to work. Which surprised him, as normally the men he invited over he screwed and then kicked out. But he knew why he wanted him again. Aside from being incredibly easy on the eyes, Ulquiorra left Grimmjow with a feeling of relaxation that he'd never felt with the other men he'd slept with. He pulled himself from bed, rolled his neck and shoulders, and headed into the bathroom.

The room was warm and steamy and made him fight back a yawn upon entering. He could make out Ulquiorra's silhouette behind the white, plastic curtain and he strode forward and pulled the curtain back and saw Ulquiorra turn, his eyes widening a little in surprise.

Grimmjow's eyes wandered his wet frame momentarily before Ulquiorra turned towards him and Grimmjow smirked and stepped in with him. He said, "Goin' somewhere later?" Grimmjow reached for a wet washcloth and lathered it with soap before he found himself cleaning Ulquiorra's shoulders. Ulquiorra glanced down with curiosity at the hand now moving from his shoulders to scrub his chest and said slowly, "Yes. I have work today. I'm running late as we speak because of you." He added.

"That so? You didn't seem to care much earlier." Grimmjow said airily, moving the cloth fluidly down Ulquiorra's muscled stomach, feeling his abs tense a little under his touch. Grimmjow placed kisses against his neck. "Judging by your strictly-business attitude and your reaction when you found out what time it was, I'm guessin' you've never been late before." Ulquiorra's reply wasn't immediate as he was focusing on how much closer Grimmjow's hand—covered by the soapy cloth—was getting to his hips. "No. I haven't and I would prefer not to be much later than I already am—,"

The cloth slid back up his stomach and then over his chest and he felt two of Grimmjow's fingers lightly pinch his nipple through the cloth, his touch was slick, quick and teasing. Grimmjow hummed lightly in response and moved closer behind him until his wet chest made contact with his back. _I have to leave, _Ulquiorra told himself. _I have no need to remain here. _He felt warm lips on his neck and then teeth nibbling at his skin. _I need to-, _Grimmjow's hand traveled lower, threatening to dip past his hips, only to slide back up again. Ulquiorra nearly growled with impatience and it was then Ulquiorra realized that he wanted to stay. _I'm already late, staying a few minutes longer couldn't hurt. _

"—unless you had other plans for me in which case I might be willing to stay if I thought it would be worthy of my time." Ulquiorra added, deciding two could play at this. Ulquiorra took a step back, making sure to press his rear up against Grimmjow's member. Grimmjow released a low growl, loving the feeling of being cradled between wet, warm cheeks and arched his hips forward. His arm wrapped around Ulquiorra's hips to pull him closer and he began to grind his hips against his ass, his breath quickening.

Ulquiorra felt Grimmjow kiss and bite at his neck and he rolled his head back into the crook of Grimmjow's neck. His lips slipped open in a silent sound of satisfaction when Grimmjow slid the washcloth back down his stomach and past his hips. Grimmjow's composure snapped at the soft satisfied grunt he made, the way those slender hips jerked forward into his touch only arousing him further.

Unable to resist, Grimmjow turned him around and captured Ulquiorra's lips in a deep, passionate kiss, instantly tangling his fingers in Ulquiorra's sleek wet hair. He couldn't help but breathe deeply into the kiss, biting down on Ulquiorra's soft lower lip. He wrapped his arms around him, pressing their soaking bodies close together and felt himself growl in appreciation when Ulquiorra wrapped his arms around his neck, deepening their kiss.

Grimmjow's tongue ran over his lower lip and Ulquiorra let him in this time and within moments their kiss had grown from passionate to what could only be described as animalistic as their tongues explored every inch of each others mouths. This went on for about half a minute when with a gasp, Ulquiorra broke the kiss as he was pushed up against the wall, his chest heaving.

Grimmjow instantly began kissing and biting across his shoulders and neck but Ulquiorra obviously wanted some way to reciprocate and yanked him back up for another heated kiss and Grimmjow was surprised at the amount of need Ulquiorra kissed him with and this only made him want him more.

Ulquiorra could register surprise at himself and his actions somewhere in the back of his lust driven mind but he couldn't bring himself to care. All he could focus on was the ache of pleasure and the release he knew this passionate man was capable of giving to him. He would chastise himself later. Right now he needed to unwind.

And really, he thought he more than deserved it.

* * *

About an hour later, Ulquiorra lay in bed feeling completely drained of energy but more satisfied than he could recall feeling in a long time. With this feeling of bliss however came a feeling of annoyance that lingered in the back of his mind. He was annoyed at himself for giving into his carnal desires so easily. And not even once, but _twice_. It was very unlike him. Especially when he knew nothing about Grimmjow.

Grimmjow still lay comfortably atop him as they both caught their breath and their pulses returned to a normal pace with his face buried within Ulquiorra's shoulder. Ulquiorra was just beginning to grow tired of the feeling of another body lying on him when Grimmjow rolled off of him and onto his side and relaxed against the mattress with a sigh before peeling off the used condom and disposing of it in the wastebasket beside the bed. He tossed his arm over his eyes with a tired sigh, a slight grin lifting the corners of his mouth.

Ulquiorra looked over at him and became fixated on the rapid rise and fall of his stomach as his breath began to catch up with him, watching his muscles clench and unclench. In the light of the lamp his tanned skin seemed to glisten. He looked away when Grimmjow caught him staring.

Ulquiorra glanced around the room and felt the need to ask a question. "Where are you from? You act as if you've been here your entire life."

Grimmjow answered, "Japan. And I sure as hell hope to be here as long as I can." Ulquiorra was surprised to hear that. What was he doing all the way down here? He was also surprised by how much he wanted to speak to him, he barely spoke to anyone at work unless he had to. He'd blame this man for being so interesting. "What brings you here?" Ulquiorra asked. Grimmjow answered, "Hated the place. Not really anything you need to know about." He most definitely was serious when he said he hated Japan, there was a scowl to his lips and a glare in his eyes.

Ulquiorra said, "I've never been. What is there to hate about it? Just so I can avoid going." Grimmjow chuckled and said, "I'd go into detail but I can think of a hell of a better use for my mouth." He leaned over and Ulquiorra felt his heart jump when Grimmjow placed kisses against his neck. Ulquiorra swallowed, feeling his breath quicken when Grimmjow placed a warm hand on his stomach. That hand slid up his stomach, tickling his nerves and causing Ulquiorra to shudder. Grimmjow kissed a trail down his neck to his collarbone and his hand came to rest against his chest where he playfully pinched and rubbed his nipple.

Ulquiorra released a quiet groan and slipped his eyes shut, his breath quickening when Grimmjow's lips licked, sucked and kissed his neglected nipple. Ulquiorra hadn't imagined that part of his body was so sensitive, either that or Grimmjow was truly good at what he was doing to be making him real so unbelievably good. The wet sounds of Grimmjow licking and sucking at him like some kind of treat turned him on like nothing else and he let his head fall back against the pillows in complete bliss.

Grimmjow's lips left his chest and kissed back up his throat, nipping harshly at his throat and Ulquiorra winced at the slight pain but found that having Grimmjow biting an area so sensitive excited him even more. Grimmjow kissed across his jawline. Ulquiorra began to grow slightly impatient. Grimmjow moved away from him and his eyes stared pointedly at Ulquiorra's lips when he murmured, "I can think of a lot more uses for it, actually..." Ulquiorra found his eyes lingering on Grimmjow's sinfully smiling mouth. Ulquiorra normally would have felt embarrassed by how badly he wanted Grimmjow to close the distance between them, but he didn't have it in him. He wanted this man like he had wanted nothing else before in his life.

"Show me." Ulquiorra demanded. Grimmjow grinned. He leaned in and Ulquiorra didn't hesitate to do the same. But he was stopped by Grimmjow's hand pressing into his chest, pushing him back. Ulquiorra's eyes left his smiling lips and looked into Grimmjow's eyes, alight with a mischievous spark. "Say please." Grimmjow said, his smirk widening. Ulquiorra wasn't amused at all by this. Ulquiorra moved in and claimed his lips with a deep, satisfied sigh and Grimmjow wrapped his arms tightly around his waist and shoulders, kissing him back with an insatiable need. Ulquiorra was pressed into the blanket's beneath him, completely surrounded by his warmth and feeling the passion and sheer sex of this individual filling him with a kind of energy he'd never experience before.

He felt more alive than he had in weeks-in years. Grimmjow separated their lips and kissed across his jawline. "Shit," he murmured between kisses, his voice low with arousal, "I think you're actually the best one I've had yet since I got here. If more of 'em are as good as you are, I'll be right at home here." And it was like a drain had opened within his chest, slowly draining enough feelings of need and arousal for a feeling of unpleasantness to suddenly unearth itself within him. The clouds of lust fogging his mind began to disperse and his eyes snapped open. "What did you say?" he asked, looking up at him in confusion.

"The guys I've fucked so far were fucking forgettable. They were great to look at, don't get me wrong but they were so fucking boring they actually had me wishing I could get back the seed I shot into 'em. I had a feeling you'd be something different. I was right." His reply came without a second thought. Ulquiorra could feel a nauseous feeling building in the pit of his stomach. He said slowly, unwilling to understand what he was hearing, "You've had others?" Grimmjow raised a brow. "The hell do you think I'm saying?" Ulquiorra sat up, wide eyes staring into Grimmjow's as he began to better understand something he really wanted to know nothing about.

Ulquiorra said, disgust in his tone, "So-you just acquaint sex with a handshake?" With every word Grimmjow spoke, Ulquiorra was beginning to seriously wonder what he had ever seen in this man that allured him so much. He was beginning to feel sick and disgusted with himself for feeling as attracted to him as he had moments ago when this man literally saw nothing to their encounter. Grimmjow responded defensively, "If I see something I like, I get it. The funny thing is, I make the first move but I don't really need to honestly," he said, proudly, "They practically flock to me."

Ulquiorra felt sick now. "And you just-?"

"Fuck 'em and kick 'em out, _yes_!"

Ulquiorra said, disbelief in his voice, "You don't even know these people. Yet you'll let them into your bed as soon as you look at them?" Ulquiorra couldn't believe what he was hearing. He had no idea that this man was so,_ utterly_ low. "That is truly pathetic." He had barely finished speaking before Grimmjow exclaimed, "I don't give a shit how you see me! I'm not about to have my way of life questioned by you!"

Ulquiorra said, "So I was just...a trick? Is that what this was?" Grimmjow was silent. And judging by his silence, it was safe to say he hadn't anticipated Ulquiorra to be affected this way, which only confirmed the answer for him. And a sudden feeling of hurt stabbed at his heart, hurt that should have been there in the first place because he thought he had known it was just for a night. Ulquiorra stared down at the blankets, feeling both humiliated and used. Beside him, Grimmjow's expression was unreadable. Finally he said, "You done with these questions? Then get out."

And Ulquiorra just stared at him; for the first time in a long time he was feeling bitter anger unlike anything he'd ever felt for another person. But despite his anger he stayed a moment longer, lingering out of sheer hope that he'd been given a reason to stay with the first person who'd made him feel so unbelievably alive. They stared at one another for at least six seconds and when the eight second ticked by, Ulquiorra knew that waiting for a reason to stay was hopeless. He was no longer wanted here. And bitterly, he heaved himself from bed and quickly gathered his clothes, feeling the unreadable eyes of the man watching his every movement.

Ulquiorra left Grimmjow lying in bed and stopped outside the door, his hand frozen on the knob. He closed his eyes, jaw clenching hard in anger and closed the bedroom door none too gently behind him.

Grimmjow stared at the door for a moment and couldn't help but feel slightly surprised. One second they'd gone from fucking to _that_. Now what the hell was he going to do? And now he was in a bad mood, too. Who the hell did that prick think he was? In case he'd forgotten, he'd just let Grimmjow fuck him! Who was he to complain? "Stupid little…" Grimmjow grumbled, rolling onto his side and away from the door. Not to mention that pain in the ass even left, too.

_What was I expecting, a round three? It's odd enough I fucked him twice. Shit…what was I thinking? Oh right…I wasn't. _

With a growl, he kicked the blankets off his lower body and headed into the kitchen for some food. It was best to try and get on with his day now; he still had the results of his interview to look forward too.

As he ate his breakfast however he found that his memory insisted on reminding him of bright emerald eyes, soft fair skin and the condescending tone that the guy spoke to him with. And that look...that _stupid_ look of betrayal and bitter anger. He had many people asking for his number afterwards or when they could hook up again. But never had anyone look at him like _that_. He hadn't thought Ulquiorra would take it that way. No one else had any complaints afterward. He honestly hadn't intended to piss him off so much.

He had paused his chewing now, a frown on his face as he realized he was actually feeling guilty. _Fuck this bullshit. I fucked him, he enjoyed it. I'm not going to waste my time feeling bad for him. What the hell did he even expect from me? That I would be his boyfriend or something? _Was it so hard for him to fuck a guy he didn't end up hating? Not that it made much of a difference either way; he wasn't looking to settle down. All he wanted was to enjoy his youth, his looks, the men that were drawn by them and the excitement that came with starting a new life. He had his life now, a life he was building himself.

And he wouldn't have some tightass trying to tell him that he should live_ his_ life otherwise.

* * *

The instant Ulquiorra arrived home he hastened to call Starrk to apologize for his absence. He told a lie and said that he had a fever. Starrk gave him three days off and Ulquiorra thanked him and hung up. After that, he collapsed upon his bed and didn't move. His mind wondered back to Grimmjow and he gave a sigh, chewing the inside of his lip. _I knew he was rude, but I had no clue he was so…dull. _

But looking back, he honestly didn't know why he hadn't expected anything less from him. He barely knew Grimmjow, they barely even liked each other-but Ulquiorra had been so much more drawn to him than he had realized. He had been so intoxicated to him and the aura of charisma and passion he let off that he had let his personal feelings cloud his mind. _Was I truly stupid enough to fantasize that I would walk away from that with a relationship? _He questioned, opening his eyes as feelings of annoyance at himself began to surface.

He was so embarrassed to admit that to himself. But he knew it was true. And he hadn't even truly been aware of just how strong these feelings of affection were until Grimmjow had revealed that he was just another fling to him.

And what bothered him even more was that in the end, he was still thinking about him. He could still feel Grimmjow inside him; the places where he'd been kissed, licked and touched by him burned against his skin. He could still feel Grimmjow's hands on his hips, his warm lips pressing against his mouth. He felt a thrill shoot through his stomach just thinking about it.

But above all the negative things he felt towards himself and Grimmjow, Ulquiorra couldn't deny that he had never felt so alive around another human being. And he wanted that feeling again, but not from just anyone, from Grimmjow. And it wouldn't happen because the chances of them encountering one another ever again were slim and even if they weren't, Ulquiorra had too much pride to go back to him after the way he'd been treated. And now Ulquiorra—rational, strictly business Ulquiorra Cifer—was longing for the mischievous light that filled those cobalt eyes that promised mystery and excitement, that charismatic grin, those hungry kisses and that wild electric blue hair and the passion he had made Ulquiorra feel.

And he couldn't _believe_ that after he had been outright _told_ that he had been just a fling, he was still thinking about him.

Ulquiorra scowled. _Stop. There is no point in thinking about this anymore. You aren't seeing him again. It was a nice change of pace. Now, it's over._

Tomorrow he would wake up and go about his repetitive life like nothing ever happened.

_I've told myself once. I'll tell myself again. I'm not meant to be around people. If anything, the fact that he was so unbelievably shallow and that I still felt attracted to him is living proof of this. I'll get over it. These feelings will disappear within a day or two. I'll be back to normal. _

It was time to push what had happened from his mind. It was over. It was a fuck. It was all it should have been, and all it ever would be. And it was _not_ worth the amount of time he was wasting thinking about it.

But in spite of everything else, Grimmjow was all he thought about for the remainder of the day.

* * *

_Japan, Tokyo._

Believe it or not, the grand city of Tokyo did indeed have slums. It was home to some of the most desperate people who resorted to desperate measures to be able to put food on the table for the families. And it was there some of the worst people resided; people hardened by freezing winters and starvation, watching their family members get sick, watching gang members harassing people for what little food they had.

Just then a fight broke out in the streets and people began to run for cover as two men began having a fist fight while a young woman tried to fight one of them off, shouting in fear.

Inside one of the buildings however a gunshot rang out and the current fighters stopped and looked up with wide eyes. They hastily parted ways, one dragging the girl off with him as another gunshot resounded through the area.

Inside a tall building just passed the slums, the gunshot resounded again, the bullet piercing into the skull of a dead man lying sprawled on the floor, still clutching a bag half full with 100 dollar bills. A low inhale was heard and smoke wafted into the air. "Dumbass. You make me wait that long only to pay me _half_ of what was arranged in our deal? Fuckin' little pussy."

Just then his phone vibrated and he scowled and reached across his desk for his blood stained phone and casually wiped a large scattering of blood off with his thumb before he answered. "The hell do you want?" he asked unenthusiastically, noticing the number was Yammy's.

"Yo, boss! We found Jaegerjaquez!" exclaimed a very loud voice and the man in the chair held the phone away from his ear with a scowl. "Fuckin' _don't _talk that loudly you moron. You wanna fuckin' make me deaf you bastard?"

"Give me the phone…" he heard an impatient voice say and Szayel's voice was heard. "Apologies, sir. He's been most _aggravating_ since we arrived." said Szayel. "In case you hadn't heard from that oaf Yammy, we did find Jaegerjaquez's location. I can assure you the job will be done the way you wanted it."

On the other side of the line all the way in New York, Szayel Aporro stood with his gun pointed into a woman's face. "Now, where did you say he was again?"  
"I—in the hotel in Times-square! Ask the lady at the front desk, she'll know what room it is! Just please…don't hurt me…" she whimpered, tears in her eyes as a truly massive man, Yammy, held her down with his foot implanted in her back. "Good girl." Szayel said. "Boss, we'll be over there short—," and he scowled when the man hung up. He pocketed the phone with a smirk and turned to the woman weeping on the floor and said, "Well, we no longer have any need of you. And we can't have you running off to warn him or the police, can we? Yammy, kill her. Sorry, loose ends and all that, you know."

He turned to leave but paused and said, "Yammy, do try and leave _something_ left of her? Now that we're finally in New York, Nnoitra-sama won't be here to completely destroy the corpses of my potential test subjects. Leave something left of her, please." He said, pocketing his gun and pulling down the brim of his hat as he turned and left the room.

The woman's scream of terror was silenced in a loud gunshot.

* * *

Grimmjow returned to the lobby after having dinner in the hotel's dining room and instantly headed to the front desk."Key for room 305." Grimmjow said as he entered the lobby of his hotel and leaned against the counter. The woman nodded and proceeded into the backroom.

He waited a moment and she returned with his spare key and he headed to the elevator and took it up. _Guess they lost the other key then if they gave me a spare…Figures they'd lose it. Seriously how incompetent is this damn place? I had to give the guy my order twice since he kept fucking it up. _Grimmjow thought with a scowl, tossing the key into the air as he waited in the elevator. But who was he to be complaining? He had gotten called around four and had been told that there might be a spot open for him in his dream career in at least a month. It was a slim chance that he'd get in, but he wasn't about to start being negative. It was a start and he was going to be as positive about this situation as he could be. And so, with a grin he stepped into the elevator and jabbed the button for the fifth floor.

He stepped out into the hallway as it reached the floor he resided on and walked with a bounce in his step to his room. He reached his room and unlocked the door, stepping into his darkened hotel room, the only light being from windows, their curtains pulled back and—he suddenly couldn't recall drawing those before he left. He frowned. _The hell? _He had asked that no house-keeping be done. But looking around the dark room he could notice most of his messy clutter was still there.

He stepped further into the room, somewhat confused. _Whatever. Maybe I opened 'em and forgot about it? Maybe that guy…Ulqui-what's-his-face opened 'em before he left? No, like hell that happened. _He pushed the suspicion from his mind and sat down on the sofa and breathed in, trying to erase the feeling that something wasn't right. He felt…like someone was watching him and he found himself looking into the shadows behind him only to find no one there.

He drummed his fingers on the couch.

Something was off.

And that was when he heard a creak from his bedroom.

Something was very off.

He stood to his feet, his eyes staring at the door to his room and he took a slow step forward, listening intently for any more noise. Maybe he was stupid for being so tense but he had learned long ago to trust his instincts. He reached into the inner pocket of his jacket and pulled out a revolver and moved quietly towards the door until he stood right outside it.

He readied his weapon and gripped the knob, slowly turning it. The door opened for him however and Grimmjow found himself lowering the gun as two pistols were pointed right into his face. "Drop the gun, Jaegerjaquez." Grimmjow instantly recognized the men standing in front of him as Szayel Aporro Grantz and Yammy Llargo and felt anger beginning to bubble inside of him. "You fuckers." He growled.

"Did you honestly think you could hide forever, Jaegerjaquez?" Szayel asked, smirking at him. "If Nnoitra is anything, it is relentless—almost annoyingly so."

"Hey, you heard him, Grimmjow! Put the thing down or I'll kill you!" The taller of the two said, grinning. "Guess I underestimated you guys. You actually grew a big enough spine to come after me. Surprising…" Grimmjow growled. "I guess this means Nnoitra's too damn lazy to come get me himself? Is he in the city?" Grimmjow asked, eyes narrowing in anger at the thought of confronting the tall, lanky man again. Szayel sighed and said impatiently, "Skip the civilities and drop the gun, Grimmjow. I have a dissection project I need to attend soon."

"I got two words for you; _fuck_ you." Grimmjow snarled. Yammy yelled, "Screw this! You're dead, Jaegerjaquez!" and he opened fire on him! Grimmjow raced back and dove behind the couch and quickly fired shots into the doorway but they had already taken cover. He heard Szayel yell. "You idiot, Yammy! Nnoitra wants him alive!"

"He didn't say we couldn't beat him up!" Yammy yelled and suddenly, he could hear the sounds of loud, heavy footfalls on the carpet moving swiftly in his direction and Grimmjow leaned around to fire a shot at one of his attackers only to find a large foot swinging towards his face!

Before Grimmjow could move, Yammy's foot hit him hard in the face and made multicolored spots pop before his eyes! Grimmjow felt himself being lifted and then thrown backwards across the room and felt his body crash into the wall next to the bathroom. He clumsily dove into the bathroom and peered around the doorway to fire at Yammy and Yammy gave a loud yell of pain as Grimmjow's bullet pierced his arm.

"Get behind cover you oaf!" Szayel ordered and Yammy raced back to his comrade and Grimmjow had to go back behind cover as two bullets, fired from Szayel's gun, nicked the wall beside his head. As Yammy foolishly ran in front of Szayel, cutting off his line of sight, Grimmjow jumped to his feet, ran across the room and leaped onto Yammy's back and wrapped his arms around his neck. Yammy yelled in shock and Grimmjow dangled off to the right, steering Yammy towards a corner of the wall.

"Shoot him! Get him off, Szayel!" Yammy yelled and before Szayel could fire, Grimmjow steered Yammy around so that Yammy was facing Szayel, leaving Grimmjow out of range. Grimmjow flung his weight to the left and slammed Yammy's head against the wall twice, knocking him out.

Grimmjow whipped around as Szayel appeared in front of him and saw Szayel plunge his fist forward and Grimmjow had just enough time to kick Szayel hard in the stomach, sending the man flying backwards and over the side of the couch and knocking a knife out of Szayel's hand and onto the carpet. Grimmjow leaped over the couch and tackled Szayel, wrenched him to his feet by the hair and slamming his knee into his stomach to keep him from struggling.

Grimmjow slammed Szayel against the window. Szayel shouted in either pain or fear and Grimmjow rammed him against the glass again until it broke and Grimmjow pushed him out onto the ledge, his hand being the only thing that kept Szayel from plummeting to his death."Tell me you bastard; is Nnoitra in the city? Tell me!" Szayel said, "Wh-where do you _think _he is? He's back in Japan!" he wheezed, his face panic-stricken. "Did you honestly think he'd waste his time coming to get you himself?"

"Good. If I were sparing you, I'd ask you to tell him to stay there." Grimmjow said. Szayel gripped onto his hands, his wide amber eyes looking down into the streets below him. Szayel stammered, "Y-you know—killing me won't make a difference! He'll send more! He'll find you!" Grimmjow said through clenched teeth, "I don't give a shit what difference it'd make, but one less shitstain to waste my time on would make my life easier!"

"N-no, let me go—I won't—!" Szayel began desperately and Grimmjow heard movement behind him and he turned but had no time to react as Yammy lifted him by the back of the neck and hurled him back inside, sending Grimmjow smashing into the door! Szayel was thrown with him but recovered before he did and slammed a kick into Grimmjow's stomach! "There! Not so tough now are you? Are you, you _maggot_?" Szayel screamed hysterically, grinning from ear to ear as he repeatedly kicked him, winding Grimmjow before he had time to react.

Yammy exclaimed, "Oi, let me in on it, Szayel!" and just when Grimmjow thought he'd pass out, there was a series of knocks on the door. Szayel froze, his grin gone. "This is the NYPD! Open the door!"

"Shit!" Yammy growled and Szayel scowled and adjusted his glasses. "Let's go. We can't afford to get caught! Grab him!" he shouted to Yammy but before Yammy could get any closer, the door was kicked open, pushing Grimmjow against the wall as a voice yelled, "Freeze!"

"Go!" Szayel yelled and he charged towards the window and leaped out. Yammy scowled and ran after him. "Wait for me, Szayel!" he bellowed, jumping from the ledge. The four officers raced to the window. "They're jumping down the balconies! These guys are nuts!"

Grimmjow was surprised he hadn't been seen and he didn't want to stick around to wait to be arrested. He pushed himself up with a grunt, wincing as his abdominal muscles clenched as he fought back a cough. He moved around the door and into the hallway, closing it behind him before beginning to run down the hallway and to the staircase.

He flung open the door harder than he meant and winced as his body collided with it. He ran down the stairs as fast as he could. He hadn't had time to grab his gun from where he'd thrown it after pouncing on Yammy, but hopefully he'd be out of trouble long enough to get to the man he'd paid to supply a few extra ones just in case, assuming Yammy and Szayel or more of Nnoitra's men hadn't gotten to them yet.

In the meantime though, he needed somewhere to lay low. And as he reached the lower floor and stepped out in the rain, ignoring the stares people gave him for his bloodied nose and numerous cuts and bruises, he came up with an idea.

* * *

Ulquiorra was walking home, carrying two bags of groceries under his arms. He hadn't anticipated the rain and now he was soaking wet and looking forward to being in doors. The streets were near deserted now aside for the occasional car that drove down the quiet road, its headlights illuminating the ground and creating shadows on the ground that would mold into the darkness the instant the lights were gone.

He could see his house now and he quickened his steps and then frowned when he noticed someone standing on his doorstep. He sighed. He wasn't in the mood for loiterers. If this one gave him trouble when he asked him to move—

The man on his doorway left his stoop and strode into the light from the streetlamp and Ulquiorra was surprised when he recognized him. _Lovely, _he thought sarcastically. It was Grimmjow. Ulquiorra had no desire to speak to him and he didn't even want to know why the man was here as Ulquiorra could already imagine why since Grimmjow seemed to be as shallow as they came.

Ulquiorra and Grimmjow walked closer together and when it seemed Ulquiorra would stop in front of him, Ulquiorra turned right to walk around him. A large hand gripped his arm and Ulquiorra stopped walking. Just because he was forced to halt didn't mean he'd have to look at him though. _His hand is warm, _Ulquiorra's mind couldn't help but notice, as he felt the warmth of Grimmjow's hand through his wet jacket.

"Too good to even look at me now, are we?" Grimmjow asked with a scowl that seemed to be a trademark expression. Ulquiorra stared ahead, finding it harder not to look at him when he felt that piercing gaze on him. "How did you find me?"

"Wasn't too hard. I could remember you left a label on the inside of your suit that clearly came from a laundromat. _Burt's Cleaners_, wasn't it? Tracked 'em down, questioned them and luckily one of them delivered clothes to your house on occasion and he told me to find you here. Now, I got a favor to ask you."

_The absolutely audacity of this man…_Ulquiorra thought, his brow furrowing in anger and his nostrils flaring.

"How clever of you. I don't care what it is you want. I am already aware of why you're here and my answer is no." he said, making it obvious in his tone that he wasn't pleased to see him.

Grimmjow feigned surprise by raising his brows. "You know? So tell me, then. Amaze me."

"Answer my question first you piece of trash." Ulquiorra ordered, sending a fierce glare in his direction that actually did surprise Grimmjow. It also angered him. "Trash? That's a little rude, ain't it?" Grimmjow growled, his grip on Ulquiorra's arm tightening. "And guess what, I don't think I will. Not if I'm going to have to stand here and be treated as inferior by you. Fuck it." Grimmjow released him and turned to walk away.

Ulquiorra decided to tell him anyway and said, "You're here because you're expecting sexual favors. And my answer is—,"

Grimmjow snorted, half amused but also half annoyed Ulquiorra thought he knew him that well. "Shut up. You're fucking wrong, that isn't why I'm here. But if you're really _that_ eager for another round why didn't you just say so?" He asked, a smirk forming on his face.

Ulquiorra's glare got colder and Grimmjow rolled his eyes. Ulquiorra said, "Get to it, then."

"What, fucking you?" Grimmjow asked.

"_No_. Tell me why you're here and I'd like you to do it quickly." Grimmjow had enough. He had enough of this man and his Holier than Thou shit.

"Ask me nicely then." Grimmjow ordered.

Ulquiorra said, "I will not. Answer my question. Why are you here and what do you want from me?"

Grimmjow's fist clenched and he glared just as hard at the other. "Not until you ask me nicely." Grimmjow said, smirking despite his anger. Ulquiorra was silent and Grimmjow felt his smirk fade and his anger rising.

"And do me a favor; stop acting like you're so damn above me. Or if you're gonna do that, make sure your curiosity towards me isn't as fucking subtle as a shark in a wading pool before you try and pull your Mother-Superior crap!" Grimmjow snapped.

"Your attempt at flattering yourself is truly pathetic. You turn up at my doorstep and then directly confront me, going so far as to grab my arm might I add, make it sound like you're stalking me and give me no answer as to why you're here; the one who should worry about subtlety is _you_. My behavior towards you is perfectly understandable. If you were foolish enough to expect me to bow at your feet as I am sure others do then you were wrong."

Grimmjow replied, knowing this would annoy him, "No, they normally suck me off but bowing's nice, too."

"I am not wasting the remainder of my night having this discussion with you. You can leave. Now." Ulquiorra said and he turned and began walking away. Grimmjow instantly said, "My— fucking—pleasure." And he turned and began to walk away when he paused upon hearing the distant call of police sirens.

His anger was momentarily extinguished. This was one of the safest areas in the city and to him, the best place to lay low until he could figure out what to do about Nnoitra's men. It was the last place anyone (the cops or Nnoitra's thugs) would chose to look. But most importantly, Ulquiorra was the only contact that he had.

_I came here to start anew, remember? I came here to put that stupid shit behind me. I can't be pathetic enough to get locked up or killed now. Not after coming this far. I can put up with some stuck up prick. I've done worse. Though judging by his attitude towards me, I may have to resort to some pathetic shit. Oh well. I've done worse. _

He cleared his throat, shook out his shoulders, rolled his neck a little, forced the most pitiable look onto his face that was possible and turned around. Grimmjow began to walk after Ulquiorra. He called, "You want the truth? Fine, I'll admit it. I came here because I got kicked out of my hotel." Ulquiorra had just stuck his keys in the door. He paused, his head turning the slightest in his direction. "The guys didn't even give me a real good reason for it. All they really said was that they were throwing me out because they found out I'd been inviting men over. Can you imagine it? Homophobia in this day and age!" he said as pathetically as he could.

Ulquiorra was quiet, listening to Grimmjow's story. _That's ridiculous, He was a paying customer. Unless the men he invited over were being disruptive, that is hardly a reason to-, _Ulquiorra caught himself. _No, that might not be true, for all I know the men he brought over could have been being disruptive. Why am I pitying him? _He didn't like it, but his first response as someone who was heavily attracted to the man behind him, despite everything, would be that he was welcome to come in. His response as someone who was feeling stupid and hurt for liking him as much as he did despite knowing that Grimmjow felt nothing for him and feeling even more stupid for not being surprised about that fact was, "Absolutely not." Ulquiorra said and Grimmjow went quiet, a look of hurt on his face. Ulquiorra quickly looked away, already beginning to feel bad.

He said, beginning to fiddle with his keys, "You must have other people to stay with. Is there someone you can call?"

"No. I just got here. There's no one."

"That can't be true. Don't your tricks at least give you their phone numbers before you throw them out?" Ulquiorra asked, turning around to speak to him.

"There's no one I can go to!" Grimmjow responded desperately. Ulquiorra bit the inside of his lip. The right thing to do would be to just set everything aside and let him in. But he wouldn't do it. Because he wasn't sure what would happen when he did. He didn't want to end up being more attracted to this man than he already was, especially knowing that nothing would come from it. "My answer is no." Ulquiorra said, but with much less resolve than he wanted as Grimmjow's face fell.

"I wouldn't be in your way, Ulquiorra. Hell, you wouldn't even know I'm there, just..." Grimmjow could hear a definite crack in Ulquiorra's resolve and he knew that if he pushed a little harder, it would break. "I haven't got anywhere to go. I'm alone here. I haven't got anyone I can call, I don't even know the city I'm in very well."

He could see Ulquiorra growing fidgety and impatient, torn between his need to do what he knew was the right thing and between his hurt pride for what had happened between them earlier. It suddenly occurred to Grimmjow that Ulquiorra had to have liked him far more than was letting on to if he was so upset at him. And while that would also make manipulating him easier, it also surprised him. Not to mention made him feel a tad bit guilty for some reason. It wasn't like he himself hated Ulquiorra. He certainly hadn't intended for the man to leave with such foul feelings towards him. He had honestly thought—,

"I can't do this. Go find someone else. Anyone but me." Ulquiorra said, seeming to reach his wits end as well as the end of his patience. He flung open the door and slammed it behind him.

"Asshole." Grimmjow growled, his desperate look completely gone and replaced by an angry scowl. He wasn't about to walk away though, because if _Ulquiorra_ was stubborn, _he_ was even more stubborn. He had his mind set on staying here and nothing could change it. Especially now that it seemed Ulquiorra had won. Grimmjow had never been one to accept defeat and if anything merely saw this as a challenge.

However he was clean out of ideas as to how he'd convince Ulquiorra to let him stay. Beating the crap out of him wasn't an option and neither was breaking in as that would only get him arrested. He strode to the doorstep and simply stood there, trying to think.

Grimmjow ended up standing outside Ulquiorra's door in the rain, resting his back against the old, wooden door and clenching his jaw to keep his teeth from chattering as the night grew progressively colder.

Like Ulquiorra was unwilling to admit he was curious about him, Grimmjow was unwilling to admit he was actually feeling fairly desperate. He'd come so far to get to where he was now and after so long and working so hard, he was finally in America and so close to achieving his goal.

And if staying out of trouble with his pursuers long enough to get a career in wrestling meant housing with Ulquiorra, he'd do it in a heartbeat.


	3. Sharing space

Chapter 3

Ulquiorra awoke the following morning and headed downstairs for some coffee and paused in the process of making it when he heard a loud sneeze right outside his door. He stared curiously at the door for a moment and then decided to pass it off and continued making his coffee.

Random noises started up outside, an occasional cough or sneeze which he would have normally passed off if the sound hadn't always sounded like it was right outside his door. _Must be a drunk. _Hardly annoyed, he crossed to the door, unlocked it and looked outside to see no one.

Another cough. He looked down and his eyes widened in shock when he realized that it was not a drunkard at all but _Grimmjow_ asleep on his stoop! "You…" Ulquiorra began, not able to be annoyed due to the disbelief he way in. Had Grimmjow actually slept_ here_ all night? Ulquiorra hadn't known he was _this_ set on staying here. _Stubborn fool. Even after I gave him my answer he still-, _Ulquiorra shook his head. He needed to resolve this situation, not be in awe of this man's will.

He lifted a foot and nudged Grimmjow in the back and the man jolted awake, shivering. Grimmjow looked up at him and Ulquiorra said, "You slept here in the rain all night even after I told you I was opposed to having you stay here?" He should have felt annoyed, he reminded himself (and he was, just not as much as he felt he should have been.)

Grimmjow said, shuddering, "The h-hell does it l-look like g-genius?" _Even when he is half frozen, he's still able to spit out insults, _Ulquiorra noted with both annoyance and fascination. Having now seen how determined Grimmjow was to have his way, Ulquiorra was either bewildered by this man's stubbornness or he was actually quite impressed.

But in any case, Ulquiorra couldn't have Grimmjow dying outside his door. Despite that Grimmjow had offended him; it seemed Grimmjow really was relying on him. And Ulquiorra knew he couldn't turn him away, as reluctant as he was to let Grimmjow into his life, because as much as he didn't like it, he was still very much attracted to him. And he knew that would end up being the death of him. "You're a fool and a ridiculously stubborn one, but if you're truly that desperate, come in." Ulquiorra wrenched his door further open and Grimmjow looked shocked. "W-what?"

"I finally give you the answer you've waited out in the rain for and you miss it? I said _come in_. I don't want someone calling the police and saying there is a corpse on my doorstep." Ulquiorra said. When it seemed all Grimmjow was going to do was gape at him, Ulquiorra extended his hand and Grimmjow took it and Ulquiorra heaved him to his feet. "Thanks." Grimmjow mumbled, clapping him on the shoulder before he stumbled inside.

Ulquiorra stood in the doorway, unable to believe what he was doing. _Let him stay. It isn't as if you can't handle him._ He scowled and slammed the door. He turned away from the door to see Grimmjow kicking off his soaked shoes and leaving them in the middle of the hallway. "I'm usin' your s-shower." He said. Ulquiorra lead the way up the stairs to the bathroom. "It's right in—," His voice trailed away when Grimmjow, in his haste to be rid of his wet clothing, quickly opened his shirt, giving Ulquiorra an eyeful of smooth, chiseled abs and golden skin. Ulquiorra felt a jolt go through his chest at the sight of so much bare skin being so suddenly exposed. By the time he had realized his own silence, Grimmjow had slipped into the bathroom. Ulquiorra scowled at himself and headed down the stairs and into the hallway to clean up after Grimmjow.

Ulquiorra looked down at the shoes Grimmjow had discarded and picked them up and set them neatly to the side. He'd have to give Grimmjow the rules of the house. He let Grimmjow into his house with the impression he wouldn't clutter it and he would make sure Grimmjow understood that while he was staying here, he was to follow certain rules. He made his way back up the stairs. _He can stay here, but whatever it is that I feel for him, it has to go. It is meaningless to harbor feelings of attraction towards him when nothing will come from it._

He headed to the bathroom and found the door ajar. He could see Grimmjow's silhouette through the jar in the door and suddenly was greeted by the most ridiculous urge to peer in. His brow furrowed in distaste. Something like that would be more suited for Grimmjow, not himself! But when the soft rustle of noise from the other side of the door become more aware to him, he found himself looking up (a little too eagerly for his taste) in time to find Grimmjow unzipping his drenched jeans. Ulquiorra hastily looked away, perplexed by himself. Was he really this invading someone's privacy like this? He heard the shower curtain getting wrenched back, immediately followed by the sound of rushing water. "When you're done, give me your clothes." Ulquiorra said.

_Your naked body would be more preferable._

_What?_

_Nothing._

"What? Why? You want me walkin' around ass naked? All you had to do was ask!" Came Grimmjow's smug reply.

"No, I'm not in the mood to vomit." Ulquiorra responded a little too defensively. "It's just that if you're going to be staying here, I don't want you to smell of mildew."

"Sure."

And Ulquiorra headed into his bedroom to dress for the day. He could only hope this wouldn't be as annoying as it seemed it would be.

* * *

Ulquiorra finished dressing and left his room and realized he could no longer hear the shower in the next room. _It isn't possible he could warm up properly that quickly. _He headed downstairs and saw Grimmjow sitting on the couch with a towel wrapped tight around his waist. "That shower didn't do shit," Grimmjow stated with a shudder in his voice. "Even when I was in it I still felt half frozen."

Ulquiorra frowned. That didn't sound good at all. "Do you have a fever?" he asked, growing weary of the situation. There was a very high chance Grimmjow might have contracted the beginnings of pneumonia. "Can't tell." Grimmjow mumbled groggily. Ulquiorra walked over to him and felt his forehead. He felt very warm.

"You do have one," Ulquiorra stated, trying to keep his eyes away from Grimmjow's bright blue ones and pretending not to feel the warmth radiating off of him. "And here you are sitting around in a towel." Grimmjow said defensively, "Hey, you said—,"

"It doesn't matter what I said. Right now, we need to get you warm." Ulquiorra instantly headed upstairs and into his bedroom. He opened a drawer under his bed and pulled out numerous blankets and a spare pillow and left the room and returned to Grimmjow. Looking him over, Ulquiorra could see a flush to his cheeks and a deeper color to his lips. He was also breathing shallowly.

_He isn't coughing yet, so that's a good sign. I'd like to keep it that way, _Ulquiorra thought, throwing a blanket over him. "Take these and cover yourself up." Grimmjow said, "Hey, I can look after myself alright? I've done it for years. I don't want your god damn blankets." Ulquiorra was taken aback by his attitude.

"I don't care what you've done. You are at risk of catching pneumonia and I'm not tolerating any stubbornness on your behalf. Now, take the blankets." Ulquiorra ordered. "And I just said I don't want your help!" Grimmjow argued his tone less angry than it should have been due to the shiver in his voice. Ulquiorra was beginning to grow impatient, something that was very unusual for him. It seemed Grimmjow knew just how to get under his skin and Ulquiorra was getting sick of it.

_How is it that this man can still be so infuriatingly stubborn even when he's freezing? What a complete—,_

"If I'm sick, that's my problem, alright? I'll take care of myself!" Grimmjow said, throwing aside the blanket. Ulquiorra had it and said, "And if you're smart, which I am beginning to doubt, you'll accept my help. Refusing to accept my help and dying on my sofa is nothing to be proud about." And Ulquiorra promptly dropped the blankets on top of him, completely covering him and feeling some satisfaction when he heard Grimmjow exclaim in protest.

He didn't know where this man had got his pride and stubborn attitude from but he wasn't going to put up with it. Grimmjow was in his house and he would follow his orders. "Now stay put, and do what you can to get warm; make sure your neck is dry and covered, do what you will. I'll make some soup."

Grimmjow's head emerged from the blankets and he instantly began to stand up. He said, "I don't need or want your help, do you understand? Now let me take care of myself!" Ulquiorra's jaw clenched and he could feel his impatience rising. "That wasn't what you said last night. I seem to recall you begging for my help."

"Not your help, your apartment! Those are two different things." Grimmjow argued, striding up to him and nearly stumbling when he stopped in front of him. Ulquiorra found himself hoping that he would actually topple over and that maybe that would knock some sense into him.

"Now, I'm going to say it once, Cifer; I'm taking care of myself." He said through gritted teeth. Ulquiorra said, "Unless you know how to treat the beginnings of pneumonia then no, you are not doing it yourself. This is my house, you are to do what I tell you to and failing to do so may also get me infected with pneumonia. Now, sit back down." Ulquiorra ordered, looking him straight in the eye and Grimmjow stared back unblinkingly.

They held gazes and Ulquiorra knew immediately that this argument would go on forever at this rate because neither of them was about to back down. They both had too much to prove to the other and it was about the same thing; who was on top and who wasn't.

He saw Grimmjow's lip curl. "Listen to me you little asshole, I don't fucking want your help now get out of the way before I make you." he said through clenched teeth.

"I couldn't care less about what you want." Ulquiorra argued back, trying his hardest to keep his anger at bay. "If you truly didn't want my help, you wouldn't be here. Go sit down on that couch before you fall down."

"Make me." Grimmjow snapped, shoving him hard in the chest. That was it. Ulquiorra shoved him back and sent him stumbling backwards and landing flat on his back on the floor with a loud_ thud_! Grimmjow hit the floor with a loud thud and a grunt. Ulquiorra lowered his hands, surprised at himself but also knowing that words wouldn't have been enough to get Grimmjow to listen.

Grimmjow lay immobile on the ground and Ulquiorra felt his anger fade to be replaced by of all things, concern. He watched him carefully and was about to speak to him when Grimmjow opened his eyes and mumbled, "You fucker." He looked disorientated and Ulquiorra felt a growing sense of unease. Despite that he felt saying such a thing would contradict his actions, he asked, making sure his tone was casual, "Are you alright?"

"The fuckin' room is spinning." Grimmjow answered, shutting his eyes tight. "Ah shit." He groaned. He attempted to open them and then shut them instantly. Ulquiorra was beginning to feel ashamed of himself now. He should have handled the situation like an adult. Instead he handled it like Grimmjow would have.

"Get up." Ulquiorra said, extending his hand to Grimmjow for the second time today. Grimmjow attempted to smack it away but missed. Ulquiorra looked away with a quiet, impatient sigh and waited. "Your stubbornness will be the death of you. Now get up. I'm not playing this game with you anymore." And when Grimmjow didn't move, Ulquiorra grabbed his hand and pulled him to his feet.

Grimmjow staggered upon getting up and instinctively latched onto his shoulder. Ulquiorra looked from his hand to his face and saw that there was a look of bitter shame on Grimmjow's face; he was avoiding eye contact and his face was turned just a few inches to the right. And suddenly, Ulquiorra understood something. He felt weak, Ulquiorra realized. He was like a starved animal, knowing that if it ate from the human's hand, it would relieve its hunger, but unable to trust the human not to take advantage of its vulnerability. And Ulquiorra felt like he could relate to him. He too was a very prideful person and knew that if he were in this situation, he'd have much preferred to help himself rather than let someone he barely knew take care of him. He, like Grimmjow, wasn't used to relying on people, either. He felt Grimmjow wobble a little on his feet, pulling Ulquiorra from his thoughts, and Ulquiorra took notice of how close they were. He could feel Grimmjow's warmth through his clothes.

Not wanting to let his thoughts drift back to the last time they'd been this close, Ulquiorra began to walk towards the couch. It seemed Grimmjow had accepted his situation because he didn't utter a sound as they made their way back towards the sofa. He let Grimmjow seat himself and Ulquiorra lifted the blankets and set them down next to him. And, when Grimmjow seemed like he was comfortable, Ulquiorra headed into the kitchen.

He couldn't recall ever making a meal for someone other than himself. Of course, he planned to drink some of this soup too, but it felt very odd to be making food for someone else. He'd never taken care of another person before, nor had he ever had someone else in his home. It was only the third day of knowing him and already, Grimmjow had taken Ulquiorra out of what he considered the norm of his everyday life. And Ulquiorra wasn't sure if he liked it or not. He really didn't know what to feel and that itself was unusual, at least for this day and age for him. When he had been a teenager, not knowing what to feel had been very normal for him. He wasn't in a hurry to return there.

The stove's timer beeped and Ulquiorra turned off the heat and ladled the chicken noodle soup into a bowl and set it on a tray which he carried to the couch where Grimmjow lay, looking like he was in the seventh layer of hell. He still hadn't bundled up. Ulquiorra said, "Sit up." Grimmjow cracked open an eye and sighed. "Soup doesn't do shit." He groaned.

Ulquiorra said, "That's a matter of debate. It may not cure you immediately, but it will clear your sinuses and warm you. I also pride myself on my cooking abilities so I can say it will taste good." Grimmjow just glared at him and Ulquiorra could feel that getting him to eat it would be a challenge.

"I will not make you eat it, but I strongly urge you to."

Grimmjow shook his head and said, "Why the hell are you even bothering with me anyway?"

Honestly, Ulquiorra wasn't sure. His excuse was that he didn't want to get sick. And before Grimmjow could say anything, Ulquiorra set the tray down in Grimmjow's lap and squatted down beside him. Grimmjow looked down at the soup and then back at him. "I don't need it." Ulquiorra initial reaction would have been to order him too. But he had already learned that that didn't help. If anything, it made things worse because Grimmjow's defenses got higher until he was acting like a cornered animal.

Instead, Ulquiorra heaved a quiet sigh, releasing some of his impatience and filled Grimmjow's spoon with soup and lifted it to his lips. "I would appreciate it if you ate this." He said, making sure to keep any impatience out of his voice, keeping only the sincerity in it. Grimmjow gave him a look of annoyance, distrust was visible in his eyes, and Ulquiorra looked back at him with patience, his hand still held out and waiting for Grimmjow to take the spoon. They held gazes for a moment and the distrust in Grimmjow's eyes slowly faded to be replaced by an almost warmer look in comparison when he realized that Ulquiorra's intentions were good. Grimmjow slowly sat up, took the spoon and sipped the soup from it. He blinked in surprise and licked his lips, and then reached over for the blankets that lay draped over the back of the couch.

Ulquiorra leaned back on his haunches and watched with satisfaction as Grimmjow bundled himself up and began to eat with growing enthusiasm. Such enthusiasm in fact, that Ulquiorra went to fetch a bowl for himself and ended up joining him at the end of the couch.

He had a feeling that if Grimmjow were to ask again why he was bothering to help him, he wouldn't answer verbally. But it wouldn't mean that he wasn't sure about his answer anymore. He was taking time out of his day to help him because he wanted to. Because despite that having someone else in his life was confusing and new, he was beginning to find that it wasn't nearly as big a hassle as he thought it would be.

In fact—he was enjoying it.

* * *

The day went by rather uneventfully after that. Grimmjow fell asleep after finishing his soup and Ulquiorra retired to his room to work on some notes for a trial on this coming Thursday. He only left his room when the time came for dinner and he heated up some of the left over soup for himself and Grimmjow.

He headed towards the sofa with the bowls and set his down on the table and reached down to shake Grimmjow's shoulder and paused. Grimmjow looked very different in his sleep. He wasn't scowling in fact, he seemed very at peace. His hair was tousled from frequent tossing and turning and his cheeks were still a bright pink. It was a rather pleasant sight, Ulquiorra admitted, to see him without a frown on his face.

He looked so comfortable it was almost a shame to wake him. So, Ulquiorra didn't. Ulquiorra set the soup bowl down on the coffee table beside him and took his own food up to his room, dimming the lights on his way out.

As he headed away up the stairs, Grimmjow's eyes opened and he turned over onto his back with a sleepy groan, throwing his hand over his eyes. He was very reluctant to wake up but the idea of lying here listlessly was a very unpleasant one. He absolutely hated being in this state, he felt weakened and pathetic.

He heard a door close and his eyes opened, wondering if Ulquiorra was coming downstairs to check on him. As he sat up to see if he was correct, he suddenly realized he was no longer chilly and that his fever had gone down. This surprised him and he felt an instant sense of relief.

_Finally, I can stop lounging around. Not that there's much to do around here but anything's better than being stuck on the couch._

And he knew precisely who he had to thank for his wellbeing. He looked up towards Ulquiorra's room as his mind wondered to his host—his host who, despite believing his life style to be shallow, had still taken care of him and made being sick and vulnerable a hell of a lot easier to live through.

And all Grimmjow could wonder was—why?

He shook his head and fell back against the sofa. It didn't matter why he'd done it. All that mattered was that Grimmjow felt like he could trust him at least a little, which was a hell of a lot more than he could say for other people in his life.

He'd also underestimated his strength. Ulquiorra, despite his size, _really _knew how to shove. Grimmjow rolled over onto his left and his eyes caught sight of the bowl sitting on the coffee table. He pushed himself onto his elbow and reached out and took the bowl. He felt himself fighting back a grin.

Being taken care of wasn't something he enjoyed, but he was considering making an exception for Ulquiorra.

* * *

Ulquiorra awoke early the next morning, showered, dressed and headed downstairs to prepare breakfast. He quickly made two plates of egg and sausage and placed a plate on the table for himself and one on the coffee table for Grimmjow. The man was still in a very deep sleep but Ulquiorra still shook him awake. Grimmjow jolted awake, flinging himself bolt upright so fast, Ulquiorra jumped a little. Grimmjow's wide eyes met his gaze and he seemed to relax a little. He slumped back against the cushions. "The hell do you want?" he asked tiredly. "The sun can't even be up yet. Piss off." He rolled over onto his side away from him.

Ulquiorra said, "I've made you—," he paused at what he saw on Grimmjow's back. A huge tattoo of a roaring Japanese style dragon with flames billowing from its mouth dominated his backside. But it didn't stop at just a dragon. Flames were drawn into the background, too. It was more like a painting than a tattoo. Ulquiorra honestly didn't know how he couldn't have seen it before. It was near impossible to miss. The dragon didn't end at his backside either. It trailed lower, disappearing beneath the towel hung low around his sharp hips.

"Like it?"

While he had been staring, Grimmjow had turned his head to look over his shoulder at him. "I wanted the thing removed before I left. But as you can see, that would have been a bit difficult."

"I couldn't imagine getting that done. It must have been tedious." Ulquiorra said.

"Took hours. Hurt like a bitch, too." Grimmjow said, rolling over onto his back and taking the food from the coffee table. Ulquiorra felt himself frown at the thought. He couldn't imagine lying flat on his stomach for hours just to get a tattoo done. It sounded absolutely terrible.

"Why get it done? It sounds like more of a burden than an enjoyment."

"Friend made me do it." Grimmjow answered, stuffing a sausage into his mouth. "Wish I could get it removed though. Just knowing it's there pisses me off now."

"You had a falling out?" Ulquiorra asked. Grimmjow smirked and chuckled deeply, his blue eyes dancing with a dark, humorous light. "You could say that." He said. Ulquiorra got the feeling his words held a deeper meaning behind them, but he didn't ask what Grimmjow was insinuating. He was getting the feeling he didn't want to know.

Grimmjow began to eat and Ulquiorra moved away towards the table. Grimmjow said, "Hey, are my clothes dry yet?" Ulquiorra said, "Most likely. They are not clean however so I'll go to the Laundromat later to get them clean."

Grimmjow said quickly, "Don't bother. I wanna get out today. I'll wear them but you can help me buy new ones. Know a good place?" Ulquiorra hadn't expected that last part of his sentence. The idea wasn't out of his way however, he did have to do some shopping today, though he would have preferred Grimmjow to make it sound like he had more of a choice in the matter.

"I know a few. I'll buy them for you if you'll make yourself useful and assist me with some errands." Ulquiorra said.

Grimmjow looked over the back of the couch at him with a glare, only his eyes to the top of his head were visible. "Making me do your housework now, huh?" Even with his face half hidden, his eyes were nearly just as expressive.

Ulquiorra closed his eyes with a soft sigh. "No. But considering that I took care of you yesterday and will be buying you clothes, I would think that you'd be willing to assist me."

He saw Grimmjow's brow furrow in thought, his eyes squinting and darting back and forth as he quickly thought about it. They looked back up at him, closed when he gave a sigh and then opened with a look of resignation.

"Alright, fine. I'll accompany you. But don't get too adjusted to it. I ain't doing this all the time." He said firmly. Ulquiorra gave a nod and continued eating. "Get dressed. We're leaving in an hour." And Grimmjow stood to his feet and headed upstairs for his clothes.

Ulquiorra was surprised. He hadn't expected him to be so agreeable.

* * *

Ulquiorra absolutely detested malls. He couldn't stand the crowds, the noise, the obnoxious chipper pop music, or really anything about them and they were possibly one of his least favorite places on earth. Buying things shouldn't ever be made so stressful or tedious. And this was why he left as early as he could and arrived just when the place opened with his tired, moody guest in tow.

"Christ, couldn't you let me grab a cup of coffee or something?" Grimmjow grumbled, yawing into his fist. "I feel like a damn bus hit me."

"My schedule has its benefits," Ulquiorra said, moving towards the escalator and stepping onto it. "As you can see, we have the whole place to ourselves. Coming here in the middle of the day would have made this an awful ordeal."

"Great. I'd jump up and down in joy but I'm so damn tired, I might just fall asleep mid jump." Grimmjow said, nearly slipping a little as he stepped off the escalator with Ulquiorra. Ulquiorra stopped to look at the signs on the wall ahead of them to see which way they needed to go to find the men's clothing store but Grimmjow just moved on by and by the time Ulquiorra had finished looking at the signs; Grimmjow was already at the entrance to a large department for men's clothes.

Ignoring the impatient scowl on Grimmjow's face, Ulquiorra headed inside with him. Ulquiorra seated himself on a bench by the entrance and said, "Take what you think looks good but make sure it is at least below thirty dollars." Grimmjow just grunted and began to search the aisles. He disappeared for a moment and Ulquiorra waited for him to come back, sighing when some teenage pop star started singing some cheery, cutesy song about love over the speakers.

He couldn't believe he was doing this. He'd never imagined he would be helping someone buy clothes, least of all that that that someone would just so happen to be the guy he uncharacteristically went to bed with or that that man would be staying in his home. Things were moving a little too fast for him and he wasn't sure he was as comfortable with this situation as he was letting onto be. Because really, he wasn't at all. Everything in his life was strange and different right now and he was unsure how to handle it, though to be honest, he felt he was doing a fairly decent job handling Grimmjow in all his wildness. He couldn't say the same about keeping his eyes to himself however.

He closed his eyes and breathed out a quiet sigh, resting his chin in his hand. _I think it is reasonable to still feel this way towards him. It's understandable, isn't it? I slept with him a day ago. I won't count today because it has barely even begun and there may yet be no changes in my feelings. And by feelings I mean physical attraction, nothing else, _he quickly added.

_I'll be over it by the end of the day and before I know it, my life will be back to normal. It isn't like he means anything to me and after the way he treated me, he definitely shouldn't. Getting over these feelings of longing will be easy. _

"Hey." A pair of feet had come into his vision and he looked up to find Grimmjow standing in front of him. "I picked out a couple things." And before Ulquiorra could ask, Grimmjow shoved at least six items at him. All of them looked rather beat up and certainly nothing Ulquiorra would wear. He'd chosen a pair of blue jeans with rips in them, a pair of white jeans and a pair of cargo pants. He'd also gotten a blue hoody that looked like it would blend right in with his hair and two shirts. He'd also gotten a faux jaguar skin vest that looked extravagant.

"I can't imagine any of those are below the price I was hoping for." Ulquiorra stated, looking up at him. Grimmjow said firmly, "Who cares about the price? You want something, you get it."

"Yes, but I'm buying it." Ulquiorra said, not feeling enthusiastic about this at all. Grimmjow said, "If you wanna feel better about it, buy something for yourself. It's not my problem. And before you complain anymore, I haven't even tried these on yet." Before Ulquiorra could argue, he walked off with his clothes and Ulquiorra sighed and followed him.

Grimmjow led the way to the changing rooms and while Ulquiorra seated himself on a bench outside, Grimmjow ducked inside and began to change. Ulquiorra didn't need to wait long because after a few seconds, Grimmjow stepped out, dressed in the white jeans and the jaguar vest. "Opinions?"

In all honesty, it suited him. It caught your attention the way he did, it was showy and sexy and the fact that he chose not to wear a shirt beneath the vest only added to it. Ulquiorra would have never chosen to wear something like that; he couldn't imagine he'd be able to pull it off or go two blocks without being shouted some gay discrimination. Only Grimmjow was brave enough to wear something like that, because he simply didn't care what anyone thought of him—or at least about his fashion sense.

And Ulquiorra had to admit; he felt admiration for that kind of brave foolishness and Grimmjow's ability to simply be who he was; no regrets, nothing held back.

"You look very campy." Ulquiorra said and though it sounded like an insult, he felt far more admiration for this man than he liked. Grimmjow smirked. "I'll take that as a compliment." And he turned to look in the mirror behind him, whistled at himself and said, "Normally I hate tight clothing, but these jeans are bearable." Truthfully, Ulquiorra had barely even glanced at them but now that he did, he noticed that they complimented the vest nicely—among other things.

Ulquiorra said, "Are we done?"

Grimmjow gave a nod and Ulquiorra said, "Then change back and lets go buy them." Grimmjow opened his mouth to respond but at the last minute, Ulquiorra jumped up and checked the price tag on the vest. It was ninety nine dollars. He supposed that was cheap for a vest that looked this good but it was still pricey. He sighed.

"Don't even try to talk me outta this." Grimmjow ordered a stubborn glare in his eyes. Ulquiorra said, "I can't tell if you're saying that because you truly are attached to this outfit or if you just want to spite me."

"Bit of both, actually." Grimmjow said, his cheeks lifting in a smirk. Ulquiorra sighed and found himself glaring back. Grimmjow rolled his eyes and suddenly moved away from him. Ulquiorra hadn't noticed just how close their bodies had been until Grimmjow's warmth left along with him. Grimmjow moved towards an aisle of men's shirts and began browsing. "If you're gonna be so cheap about this, how buying something for yourself to spare me your grief?" he suggested.

His logic was flawed, despite that Grimmjow's tone made it sound flawless, but Ulquiorra was actually in need of a few new shirts so he didn't argue. He moved towards the aisle and without second thought, pulled a few black and gray buttoned down shirts from the shelf. "Let's go." He said and he turned to leave. "Hey, you've already got a black shirt, genius." Grimmjow said.

Ulquiorra turned around, confused by his statement. That part had already been plainly obvious. It didn't hurt to have spares. Grimmjow said, "You're wearing it." Ulquiorra looked down at his current shirt and said, "Yes I am, your point?" Grimmjow said, "Why bother buying two of the exact same thing? If you're gonna complain to me about how my shit is expensive, at least bother to use your own damn money properly."

"Having a spare doesn't hurt. And as you said, it is my money. Not yours. I'll spend it how I want." Ulquiorra added, "And besides, not all of us are meant to wear faux jaguar vests or torn jeans."

Grimmjow said, "You even tried?"

"No." Ulquiorra responded. Grimmjow looked him over. "No wonder you act like you've got a stick up your ass. You're strapped down in that thing." Grimmjow gestured to his shirt. Ulquiorra was confused. "How am I strapped down?" Grimmjow ignored him and said, looking him over, "Shit, how the hell do you even breathe?"

Suddenly, he strode over to him and popped open three of the buttons at the top of his shirt. Ulquiorra remained calm on the outside but internally felt a jolt go through his stomach. Grimmjow didn't stop there; he undid the cuffs too and folded them up to his elbows. He also untucked his shirt from the confines of his pants.

Ulquiorra remained completely still while this was happening, thoroughly confused and a little alarmed by his actions. Grimmjow stepped back, looked him over and shook his head. "Ulquiorra, how the hell do you look so depressing?" Ulquiorra frowned and said, "How is my choice in clothing depressing? It's a perfectly standard way of dressing."

"You're already enough of a tightass to begin with without dressing like one," Grimmjow argued, beginning to search the aisle for more shirts. Ulquiorra begun to roll down his sleeves but was halted when Grimmjow returned with a light green, short sleeved shirt in his hand. Ulquiorra instantly protested, "My complexion is pale enough without using color to make it look even paler."

Grimmjow ignored him and shoved the shirt at him. "Just try this on, alright?" and Ulquiorra knew there was little point in arguing with him and headed into the stall. Once inside, he removed his old, tight shirt, and easily slipped into the new one. He pulled the sleeves down, buttoned it up to the top and tucked it into his pants. He emerged and said, "I've done it. Are we free to go?" Grimmjow looked him over and shook his head. Ulquiorra felt impatient now. "Shit, you're completely missing the point, Ulquiorra. C'mere." And Grimmjow strode to him and began to roll the sleeves up to his elbows. He untucked the shirt, he popped three buttons at the top, raised the collar. Ulquiorra wasn't sure why he was undoing all of his work and sighed, confused and impatient now. "Done." Grimmjow announced and he took him by the front of his shirt and pulled him back to the mirror. He stepped back with a satisfied grin and placed his elbow on his shoulder. "There. Doesn't kill you to have a bit of color in your life, doesn't it?"

Ulquiorra looked up at himself and was surprised. The light green of the shirt didn't take away from his complexion at all but instead seemed to add to it, the bright color actually complimented his skin and brought out his eyes, too. He even liked the way it showed off his collarbone. In fact, he would even go as far to say that he looked good in this color. He would go even farther and say that he liked this shirt, too. "Opinions?" Grimmjow asked, his smirk already implying he knew what Ulquiorra's reply would be. Ulquiorra didn't know what to say so he simply cleared his throat and said, "It's—it's very nice."

Grimmjow clapped him on the back and grinned. "Easier to breathe, ain't it? Let's get outta here." And Grimmjow turned and left him standing by the mirror. Ulquiorra stared at himself a moment longer before he turned to follow Grimmjow. Wearing this somehow left him with a lighter feeling in his chest, his arms felt freer and less restrained, the shirt was roomy and didn't cling to his chest.

Grimmjow was right; having just a bit of color in his life wasn't that bad.

* * *

A few minutes later, they left the mall—Grimmjow dressed in his new hoody and jeans—and headed out into the streets. The clouds had darkened while they'd shopped and the air was muggy and thick with moisture. Grimmjow heaved a sigh upon stepping outside and Ulquiorra said, "Move quickly. It looks like it will rain very soon."

"No shit." Grimmjow muttered. "Where to, your place?" Ulquiorra replied, "Not yet. I have some grocery shopping to do."

"I bet you do. I doubt you even eat. Your fridge is empty."

"I stock it when I need to. Other wise I hardly eat what I buy and it spoils."

Grimmjow raised a brow. "Seriously? How the hell haven't you died of starvation by now?" Ulquiorra didn't respond and began instead to walk towards a grocery store that he knew to be nearby. He wasn't sure why the idea of him only stocking his refrigerator with what he needed was a surprise to Grimmjow. It made things easier, neater and simpler. He'd plan out what he'd eat in advance, go to the store and buy the ingredients and cook them. No hassle, no extra baggage to carry home. It made his life just a little less stressful.

Ulquiorra led the way into the grocery store and Grimmjow followed him. Ulquiorra said, "Since you're here, make yourself useful." He handed a list to Grimmjow. "Hey, I never said I'd do your grocery shopping. I'm not your house keeper."

"Then think of it as repaying a favor and not as labor." Grimmjow took the list, looked it over and crumpled it up and shoved it into his pocket. "If you put it that way, fine. I guess I do owe you shit for taking me in and all. But don't get used to it." Ulquiorra was surprised by how willing he was to repay a favor when he felt it was due. He wouldn't have expected that kind of chivalrous attitude from someone like him. But then again, Grimmjow was a lot of things Ulquiorra wouldn't have expected him to be from the first impression he got of him; namely being deeper than he let onto.

_And he's got me practically complimenting him, _Ulquiorra noted with annoyance. _I'm not supposed to like him. Not after how he used me. He's shallow, obnoxious—,_

Ulquiorra stopped himself when he realized that Grimmjow wasn't quite as shallow as he made him out to be. Recalling how defensive he had gotten when he was feeling sick, it could actually be argued that Grimmjow really did seem to care about what other people thought of him, at least when it came to his inner and outer strength. It could even be that he was insecure—,

_As if. _

Ulquiorra refused to goad his own attempts to glorify the man. He already felt stupid enough for sleeping with him and even more stupid for still wanting him even after Grimmjow had said that he was just another trick and then he felt even _more_ stupid for being hurt that it was just a fling. His life was perfect the way it was, he didn't need anyone or anything else in it.

If any of his past relationships—or attempts at them—were anything to go on, he already knew just how bad things went when he was stupid enough to get attached. And with that thought in mind, Ulquiorra decided that from here on, he would keep a safe distance between them and let Grimmjow do whatever he liked as long as it didn't involve himself.

Keeping their interactions to a minimum would make it easier to get over—whatever it was that he felt for Grimmjow. He'd worked a lot to build up a life for himself; he wouldn't have his orderly life sucked into the hurricane that was Grimmjow.

And that was when Grimmjow reappeared, carrying an armful of groceries. "Hey! Get over here and pay for these!" Ulquiorra almost wanted to sink into the floor.

_Though to be honest, I would be an absolutely liar if I said I thought that this would be an easy task—especially since I ended up buying his junk._

He made up a decent excuse however and firmly told himself that it wasn't at all because Grimmjow made puppy eyes at him and flashed him a charming grin, but rather because he had missed ice cream.

* * *

Ulquiorra made carrot soup and baked salmon that night. It was a meal he normally had and he wasn't used to preparing two servings, but he found that he actually rather enjoyed cooking for someone other than himself. It felt exciting.

_You're not supposed to care, remember? _He reminded himself as he ladled the soup into bowls. He set the soup and salmon down before Grimmjow, avoiding eye contact with him and paused, wondering if he ought to sit down with him. He quickly decided that being in the same room with him wouldn't count as putting distance between them and headed upstairs without a word to his guest.

Upstairs, he ate alone and in silence, simply staring at the clear white wall ahead of him. The silence rang in his ears and for some reason, he felt rather fidgety. He chewed his salmon and cast his eyes downward at his plate. The silence rang in his ears and though he felt a sense of comfort from his isolated state, he also felt very bored and fidgety; his toes kept tapping, his fingers drummed on his tray, his eyes flickered about the room.

He was beginning to think that he'd been looking forward to eating with him much more than he thought he would. _And in my defense, it is perfectly fine to be feeling that way—as long as I get over it. I've told myself, I don't need anyone in my life. That isn't about to change now. _

But he begun to grow a little more fidgety and finally decided to attempt to put in some work in order to clear his head and give his fiddling hands something to do. He sat down at his desk and started up his computer and began to go over some notes for the trial of George Johnson, a man accused of the murder of his wife. The trial was due in three weeks.

_There are a few more facts I could draw out. He has had a history of violence with women for one thing. I mentioned that he was seen roughly dragging his previous girlfriend six years ago, didn't I? _

Suddenly, his door was opened and he scowled when Grimmjow's voice said, "Pride and Prejudice, seriously?" Ulquiorra turned to find Grimmjow holding up a DVD with an expression of disbelief on his face. "Where's Diehard?"

Ulquiorra said coldly, "What do you want? I'm working."

"I was going through your movies. You have some of the most boring shit I've ever seen; Pride and Prejudice, Sound of Music. I'm telling you pretty boy, if anyone had any doubts about your sexuality and looked at those, they'd know instantly."

Ulquiorra felt intruded upon as well as insulted. His old VHS tape of Sound of Music had been introduced to him by his mother. "I didn't give you permission to go through my things. Put that back and go to sleep." He couldn't help himself from adding, "And there is nothing wrong with Pride and Prejudice. It is a much better romantic comedy than any of the trash attempting to call itself that genre that you see coming out these days."

"It's boring!" Grimmjow exclaimed. "Have you even seen it? No wait that was a rhetorical question. It's obvious you haven't. I doubt someone like you could appreciate the classics." Ulquiorra said tiredly, looking away from Grimmjow and back at the computer screen. "Hey, _Diehard_ is a classic. _Indiana Jones_ is a classic, _Clockwork Orange_ is a classic; I just don't like to waste my time watching girly shit. So don't try and tell me I have bad taste in movies, alright?" Grimmjow growled.

Ulquiorra looked over his shoulder and said, "So Citizen Cane, Gone with the Wind and Shawshank Redemption count as girly?" Grimmjow said, "Never seen any of them. Can't imagine I'm missing much though."

If Ulquiorra had been ready to scoff at how easily Grimmjow dismissed Pride and Prejudice, he was astounded by all that Grimmjow had just revealed to him. He turned his entire chair around and said, wanting to make sure he had heard properly, "You have never seen _any_ of those three movies?"

Grimmjow replied, "No." Ulquiorra said in disbelief, "But you can call Diehard a classic?"

"Christ, you're such a nerd." Grimmjow muttered. Ulquiorra was finding this unacceptable! How could Grimmjow criticize so many of his favorite movies while not even having seen any of them? This was _absolutely_ unacceptable. Ulquiorra stood up and grabbed his wrist and led him downstairs. "Hey! What are you doing?"

"This is pathetic. I will not stand by and let you dismiss these movies while not even having seen any of them." Ulquiorra led him to the couch and opened up his shelf to begin going through his many movies, searching for one in particular. He found Shawshank Redemption and tossed it on the couch. "Educate yourself." He stated. Grimmjow picked up the DVD and shook his head. "Never imagined you'd get your panties in a twist over some movie, pretty boy." He said, amused.

Ulquiorra seated himself on the sofa and Grimmjow said, "Wait, what? We're seriously doing this?" Ulquiorra wanted to roll his eyes. How dense was he? "I refuse to share my home with someone so oblivious to some of the greatest films ever made." Grimmjow rolled his eyes for him. "Fine, I'll watch your movie, ain't like I got anything better to do anyway. If you can stand it, let me get some of that ice cream first."

Ulquiorra found the idea appealing and stood to his feet to grab a bowl from himself as well. Grimmjow had gotten Chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream and though would have preferred simple vanilla, he ended up quite enjoying it as they put in the DVD and started the movie.

* * *

"No, fucking way would I have chosen to crawl through a pipe full of shit water instead of staying in prison. Just—holy fuck, no." Grimmjow exclaimed as the credits began to roll, stuffing a spoonful of his second serving of ice cream into his mouth. Ulquiorra had to admit, he agreed with him. "Staying in prison does sound like an easier choice." He said, having some more ice cream as well.

Grimmjow shuddered. "Fucking disgusting…" he mumbled. "Christ, can you imagine; miles and miles on your hands and knees, unable to stretch your limbs and crawling through shit?"

Ulquiorra wrinkled his nose. "Stop it." He ordered. He was beginning to find his ice cream unappealing and Grimmjow chuckled deep within his chest, his eyes lighting up. Ulquiorra found his gaze drawn to the way his eyes wrinkled when he smiled, lighting them up and filling them with emotion. His teeth were pure white and sharp, making his smile almost dangerous but ever so alluring.

Ulquiorra quickly looked away when Grimmjow's electric blue eyes glanced at him. He instead returned his gaze to the screen and the music of the ending credits. He had always loved the soundtrack to this movie. He said, finding himself a little too excited to share his thoughts with his guest, "This soundtrack is one of the things I remember about this movie. Many people seem to underestimate the effect music can have on the viewer."

"I hear ya. No one would remember Indiana Jones without that theme song. And Jaws! I thought that movie was dumb as fuck but for the life of me, I can't forget the theme for that movie. Makes it real fun when you're out in the ocean and that theme song suddenly gets stuck in your head!" Grimmjow said, chuckling again. Ulquiorra quickly nodded. He wanted to ask if Grimmjow was just speaking hypothetically or if he ever had been out in the ocean but decided not to.

He asked, "What other movies have you seen? And I'm not talking about any of the movies made this year. None of them have captured my interest."

"Ugh, tell me about. Hollywood's gone to shit. I've seen a ton of older movies, can't name 'em all. My personal favorite's Dirty Harry, or any Clint Eastwood movie." Ulquiorra paused his eating and looked over at him in surprised. "Those were good movies." He agreed. Grimmjow exclaimed, "Good? The hell are you talking about? They're iconic! At least the first one was, the rest of 'em are just alright. The final one sucked."

Ulquiorra nodded in agreement. "Perhaps I underestimated your taste in movies." He mused. Grimmjow grinned and slapped him on the back. "Glad to hear we're in agreement about somethin'. Hey, you got those movies?" Ulquiorra nodded and stood to get them and Grimmjow grinned excitedly and lay back against the sofa while Ulquiorra put in the first movie and returned to the couch.

The movie started and they both fell into silence and watched. Perhaps it was because he'd seen this movie numerous times, but Ulquiorra find his eyes drawn to Grimmjow and the intensity and glee with which he watched the film. He leaned forward in his seat with keen eyes and smiling lips whenever the main character did anything awesome. He even mouthed the lines to the "most powerful handgun in the word" speech, stopping with an excited grin to listen to that famous line, "Well do ya, punk?"

In the end, Ulquiorra imagined he might have watched Grimmjow more than he watched the movie. And it was only when Ulquiorra returned his attention to the last act of the movie that Grimmjow fell asleep beside him. Ulquiorra wouldn't have noticed if Grimmjow hadn't slumped against him. He jumped and looked over, his wide eyes settling on Grimmjow's sleeping face.

_Is he seriously—? _Ulquiorra's question was answered by a loud snore. Again, Ulquiorra was captivated by just how peaceful he looked in his sleep. His brows weren't puckered but were relaxed instead; his lips no longer scowled and instead were parted as he breathed slowly in and out. He looked like whatever it was that kept him looking so angry and on edge could no longer hunt him in his sleep.

His body was so warm, too. Ulquiorra could feel his breath wafting against his neck, making him shiver. Grimmjow's hand had fallen against his leg and in his sleep, had relaxed against it. And though it made him feel embarrassed to admit it to himself, having Grimmjow's hand on him aroused him. Having them this close was a turn on to him and before he knew it, he was looking at Grimmjow's parted lips and remembering just how soft they were against his and how roughly he had kissed him. He had kissed him with so much passion; passion Ulquiorra had never thought could be applied to him.

The hand Grimmjow had against his leg moved as Grimmjow's fingers curled in his sleep, tickling his skin through his jeans and stirring memories of rough, skilled hands roaming his body with abandon while warm lips pressed hard up against his own and Grimmjow's naked body moved up against his. It had felt almost suffocating to be surrounded by him, unable to breathe in anything except his alluring scent and the smell of sweat and sex.

Everything about himself had been stifled in those minutes they'd spent together as Grimmjow's passion and lust breathed new life into him. He had felt like a completely different person, like he'd been reborn. He had felt alive.

And he wanted it again, so badly. Before he knew it, he'd inched his face closer to Grimmjow's. It would be so easy to close that distance. The contact would be brief, just enough to satisfy him and then maybe he would stop looking at him when Grimmjow wasn't looking, maybe he would stop longing for him so badly if he just got it over with. Perhaps his lips wouldn't even feel as good as he remembered them and he'd be disappointed, maybe his hair wouldn't be as soft as he had thought it was. Slowly, he moved his face closer until his nose was inches from Grimmjow's. _Get it over with, _he urged himself. And their lips were mere inches apart now, Ulquiorra could feel his breath warming his lips. His heart racing a mile a minute in his chest, he slipped his eyes closed and moved in closer. He could just feel the warmth and softness of his lips brushing tantalizingly against his own now... Grimmjow suddenly gave a loud snore and Ulquiorra jolted away from him.

And just like that, sense came crashing back to him and he was_ mortified_ with himself.

_What on earth was I doing? _He had been _this_ close to giving into his temptations and if he had, he honestly didn't know if he would have been able to stop himself from wanting more of him. And at that realization, a suddenly chill swept into his stomach and his breathing slowed. Any feelings of arousal he felt were gone and replaced by a feeling of sickness. He looked down at the man slumped against him and knew he had to get up and get away before he did anything he regretted. As gingerly as he could, he left the sofa, making Grimmjow fall against the cushions. When he didn't wake, Ulquiorra wasted no time is getting upstairs and closing the door behind him. The instant the door was closed; he leaned against in and didn't move.

_What was I thinking? What kind of idiot am I? _He was beginning to grow anxious. _I am an utter _fool_. I told myself not to get involved with him. I _told _myself. And what did I do? I sat down and watched two movies with him-And I enjoyed myself, _he realized, his eyes widening in shock.

He couldn't remember ever having such an enjoyable conversation like that with anyone or feeling so passionate about what he was talking about. He had legitimately enjoyed talking to Grimmjow and he had enjoyed listening to him and discovering their mutual passion for film-

And this terrified him.

_I'm getting attached to him. And I shouldn't be. It makes no sense—at all. He is everything I shouldn't like about people; he's loud, he's arrogant, he's vulgar, he's shallow. This can't be happening it's impossible, it should _not_ be happening._

And he was pacing back and forth within moments.

_There is no way I should be feeling what I am. He's detestable, everything about him is detestable. How can I be feeling this way? It makes no sense. _Ulquiorra stopped his pacing and closed his eyes and took in slow breathes to calm himself down.

_Telling myself he is shallow and unlikable doesn't change anything. Do I really have such low standards when it comes to people I find attractive? _He was getting frustrated and willed himself to calm down, taking in a few more breathes and resuming his pacing.

_This is no good. As long as he is in this house, I will continue to fawn over him. Ignoring him is impossible; he forces himself on me. Reminding myself he is unlikeable does nothing because for _whatever reason imaginable_, I am drawn to him._

His situation seemed hopeless now. He was getting attached to Grimmjow in spite of everything and reminding himself that Grimmjow was a vulgar piece of trash did nothing because Ulquiorra was drawn to him because he _was _a vulgar piece of trash. And now Ulquiorra was only even more intrigued by him because Grimmjow was demonstrating himself to be far more interesting than Ulquiorra's first impression made him out to be. Ulquiorra didn't know where this was going and he didn't like it at all. Everything was spiraling out of his control, even his own emotions weren't within his control anymore. And this scared him. And suddenly, he knew what needed to happen.

Grimmjow couldn't stay in this house anymore.

He told himself to ignore the ache in his chest that came with that realization. It would fade in time along with all of these other confusing emotions. His life would be back to normal before he knew it.

He lay awake for hours. He told himself it was because he was excited with his idea. In actuality, he was trying to figure out how exactly he was going to tell Grimmjow that he was suddenly no longer a guest in his house for seemingly no reason at all.

He didn't even know if he'd be able to do it.

Fear was replaced by a feeling of emptiness and he didn't sleep until 1:00 AM.

* * *

Getting up the following morning was difficult. He knew that he would have to confront Grimmjow with the problem eventually and he had no idea how he was going to do it. He reminded himself that it really shouldn't be bothering him this much. He barely even knew or liked Grimmjow. So why was the idea of making him leave so…hard?

With much reluctance, he slowly opened his door and peered downstairs, trying to tell if Grimmjow was awake or not. He could hear noises in the kitchen and felt himself frown. Slowly, he began to walk down the stairs; he was halfway to the bottom when Grimmjow poked his head into view, carrying a plate of what looked like eggs and bacon.

"Thought I heard you," He said, "Get down here. I made food."

Ulquiorra was silent. He wouldn't have thought Grimmjow was the cooking type, least of all that he would cook for the both of them. He remained on the stairs, knowing that they were about to confront each other and knowing that during the conversation that was sure to ensue, he would have to end this. _Sit down at the table with him, eat his food and tell him that this arrangement between us isn't working out, _he told himself.

_It will be easy and it should be easy, because he isn't my friend. He isn't my anything. _

And his resolve came rushing back when he remembered how scared he had been last night. _My life will spiral out of control if I let my feelings develop any further. I can't have that. End it. Now._ And with purpose in his heart, he headed down the stairs and into the living room where he saw Grimmjow sitting at the table eating his eggs and bacon.

Ulquiorra could feel his resolve beginning to shake when saw his own plate of food on the table. Grimmjow really hadn't had to bother with him. It didn't seem like him at all. "You are aware I can cook for myself, aren't you?" Grimmjow just shrugged. "I don't care. I just happened to cook a little too much so you get the extras."

That sounded more like him.

Ulquiorra didn't sit down however. He had absolutely no idea how he was going to go about doing this. He was already running over different scenarios in his head.

_Grimmjow, there is something I want to discuss with you; this arrangement of ours…isn't working out. Because….Because why? Why isn't it working out? I need to word out a proper reason. I can't just kick out someone who has nowhere to go without a reason._

_That's right. He has nowhere to go. What is he going to do once he leaves? It doesn't matter—Yes it_ does_ matter, you idiot. If he doesn't have anywhere to go, what will he do? Will he peddle drugs or sell his body to get by? Of course not, don't be a fool. He wouldn't sink that—,_

"Hey! Would you sit down and eat this shit already? It was a pain to make. I even burned the first batch of bacon."

"So you did cook it for me?" Ulquiorra questioned somewhat smugly, noting that if Grimmjow really hadn't cooked it for him, he wouldn't be so set about wanting him to eat it. Nor would he have been so upset about burning the first batch if he hadn't meant to make two. Grimmjow glared at him. "No, I didn't! Now shut up and eat!" Ulquiorra seated himself and began to eat, keeping his eyes down on his plate as his thoughts rushed back to him. They were both sitting together now. It was time to speak. He would have to go to work soon and he didn't want this problem following him to work.

He needed to speak. Now.

Grimmjow spoke first however. "So do all these apartments in New York have a second floor?" Ulquiorra turned towards his staircase. "I am certain a few of them do, in particular expensive high-rises might." he replied. "This is a brownstone apartment, it is the only one on this block that doesn't have other apartments built into it. As such, it is smaller than the others."

"It's a pretty big place for just one guy." Grimmjow remarked, looking around the living room. Ulquiorra was quiet as he chewed his eggs. It was a big place. He himself had had doubts about it when he purchased it because he wondered if it was too large a dwelling for him. He had bought it however because he saw potential for it but after a few days, the vastness began to get to him and so he bought as much furniture as he could to fill up the empty spaces including various large plants. He was satisfied with it now. It wasn't too empty, it felt just right to him.

"If you say so; I've always found it to be more than adequate for me." He replied with disinterest, still not able to meet Grimmjow's gaze. He was still trying to think of how he was going to get Grimmjow to leave. "Personally, it seems a little small for two people." He added. "There is no guest room or extra bathroom, so it probably isn't too ideal for some." He glanced from Grimmjow to the clock behind him. It was now 7: 58. He needed leave by 8: 40.

"Only if the buyers are picky as hell." Grimmjow said, stuffing some bacon into his mouth. Ulquiorra was quiet, absentmindedly tossing his egg around on his plate with his fork. Ulquiorra returned to his food, drumming his fingers on his knee beneath the table. He had to leave for work soon. He needed to shower and get dressed. Something needed to happen fast.

Before he could speak, Grimmjow said, "You know, I appreciate you doing this for me. No one else would have. Especially since, you know, I have no one else here to house me." Ulquiorra felt a flicker of annoyance inside. He wondered if Grimmjow had somehow caught on. Was Grimmjow playing him? His tone was very matter of fact, which only further led him to believe that perhaps Grimmjow was trying to manipulate him. But he looked up to find that Grimmjow's gaze was sincere.

_I can't do it, _he realized, not when Grimmjow so clearly appreciated it.

Before he could say or do anything, behind Grimmjow, the digital clock changed from seven to eight and Ulquiorra knew he needed to get a move on with his day. He looked to Grimmjow, trying to figure out if there was anything he could say to him. But he felt pressured now and nothing came to his mind.

"It is my pleasure." He stated distractedly. He stood to his feet and headed upstairs, his mind in turmoil and Grimmjow watching him all the while.

* * *

Working made things somewhat better, he was very busy most of the day and so, he had little time to sit around thinking. But even while he worked, thoughts would snake their way back into his head. He knew it wasn't exactly a nice thing to do, to throw out a guy who supposedly had nowhere to go.

But he knew it had to happen. It _had_ to happen and it _needed_ to happen.

He just didn't know how.

But he knew it would have to be tonight.

And so, when work was over, he left and headed home, knowing that he would need to confront Grimmjow the instant he was home.

_It shouldn't be this hard, _he reasoned with himself, _we aren't friends, we barely even know each other. This will be easy._

His feet halted outside of his door and he hesitated with the key in the lock, breathing out a quiet sigh. _Get it over with. _He slowly turned the key in the lock and suddenly, the door was opened for him and in the doorway was Grimmjow, his usual scowl in place. "Hey."

Ulquiorra gave a nod and suddenly, DVDs were thrust in his face, all of them various Clint Eastwood titles. Grimmjow said, with a grin, "These, you, me, couch, tequila, now." And he gripped his jacket and pulled him inside. "And I'm assuming you bought those with your money?" Ulquiorra said, removing his coat.

"Course. I'm not dirt broke, Ulqui."

Ulquiorra tensed at the nickname. He hadn't been called that in a long time. "I would prefer to be called Ulquiorra." He said. Grimmjow shrugged and headed into the kitchen and returned with two shot glasses. "Who the hell named you that anyway? Are you Italian or somethin'?" he asked, putting in one of the DVDs and plopping down on the sofa.

"No," he responded absentmindedly, his fingers twiddling in his pocket as he tried to find an opening to steer them onto the track of conversation he wanted. "My mother was Spanish. She named me after an architect named Patricia Urquiola, I am assuming she changed it to sound more masculine. She came to the states when she was twenty and married my father."

Grimmjow pulled the cork on a large bottle he had set down on Ulquiorra's coffee table. "Cool. Hey, the hell are you standing there for? Sit down. I rented those movies for a reason." Grimmjow said, lookign up at him expectantly. Ulquiorra remained where he was. He decided that perhaps he would be able to think of something if he watched the movie. He sat beside Grimmjow and lay back, keeping his gaze off of him and on the screen.

"Since we were discussing names, what about yourself? I recall you saying you came from Asia but who names their Asian child Grimmjow?"

"It's not my real name." Grimmjow announced. Ulquiorra looked over at him in surprise. "It isn't?" Grimmjow shook his head. "Hell no. I severed ties with that old name as soon as I could. I couldn't stand to be affiliated with my piece of shit mother's last name. Or the name she gave me. She was so fucking wasted after she had me; I'm surprised she even had the brain capacity to name me. She named me after my dad. So naturally, my first name had to go too. As far as I'm concerned, I'm not their kid. I'm just me." he said proudly, pouring himself a shot of tequila and draining it, making a face as it went down. "Good stuff." He poured another.

Ulquiorra was surprised by how much venom was in his voice when Grimmjow spoke about his parents. He looked so angry when he talked about them and Ulquiorra was very curious as to why. "Hey, you're actually lookin' at me." Grimmjow said with a smirk on his face. He looked a little too friendly and Ulquiorra vaguely wondered just how strong the tequila was. But in any case, Ulquiorra hadn't realized he'd been looking and he wondered when it had happened. Probably when Grimmjow was speaking. He looked away and back at the TV to find that the main menu had appeared on screen. He reached for the remote and clicked 'play', ignoring Grimmjow. Or he was, until Ulquiorra suddenly felt something rubbing against his hand. He tensed and looked down to find Grimmjow's thumb running circles across his skin.

"So, wanna guess it?" Grimmjow asked. He could feel Grimmjow looking at him and it sent a thrill through his chest that he couldn't ignore. "Guess what?" Ulquiorra responded as disinterestedly as he could. "My real name." Grimmjow said and in his peripheral vision, he saw Grimmjow take another gulp. Ulquiorra's eyes seemed of their own accord to look into Grimmjow's and he felt his mouth go dry at the seductive gleam in his eyes. "The film's started," Ulquiorra announced, trying his hardest to keep his eyes off Grimmjow and on the TV. It was so difficult when he could practically feel Grimmjow's eyes undressing him. "Hey, that's not nice, Ulqui. Ignoring me all day long. Why? Don't you love me?" Grimmjow taunted, his voice low, smooth and playful. Grimmjow suddenly said, "Hey, you're really hot. You know that?" Heat ran down the back of his neck and Ulquiorra ignored him, hoping that if he did, Grimmjow would eventually get bored and watch the movie like he was supposed to.

Suddenly, a hand had snaked around his waist and Grimmjow's lips were against his ear. "C'mon, pretty boy. Play with me. You know you want to." Grimmjow's teeth nibbled his ear and Ulquiorra suddenly felt dazed. Grimmjow's breath warmed his neck, making him realize he hadn't known he was chilly to begin with. A shiver ran down his spine and he could feel desire starting to flood his senses.

Christ, he had wanted this kind of contact for days.

_This isn't good, _he reminded himself.

_This needs to stop, you will regret this._

And suddenly, he got an idea.

"Alright, I'll play your game," he agreed softly, his eyes half lidded and his breathing getting just a little heavier when Grimmjow warm hand began rubbing his calve. "Good boy." Grimmjow purred, kissing down his temple. "If I win, you need to do precisely what I say." Ulquiorra told him.

"Oh, gladly. And if you lose?" Grimmjow asked between kisses. Ulquiorra responded, "Then I am at your disposal." He felt Grimmjow's lips part into a grin against his cheek. "You get four tries start…now."

Ulquiorra said, "Takano." Grimmjow's hand wandered to Ulquiorra's belt and undid the buckle. Ulquiorra's breath hitched and Grimmjow began to kiss down his neck. "Strike one." Grimmjow's thumb began to rub against the growing bulge in his pants and Ulquiorra found it increasingly hard to focus. Ulquiorra slipped his eyes closed, blocking out the room and only able to feel Grimmjow's lips against his skin.

"Azuma." He swore he was trying. He felt Grimmjow's lips travel back up his neck. Grimmjow's lips just were inches from his own when they kissed back up his cheek to his ear. Ulquiorra heard his jeans unzip and felt a warm, large hand come to rest teasingly close to the opening of his fly. "Strike two." He could smell the alcohol on his breath.

Grimmjow wasn't even touching him and already he was turned on like nothing else. _Am I even trying anymore? _ "Rin." Ulquiorra said his voice low with need. He felt Grimmjow grin against his ear, a low chuckle escaping him. Grimmjow's teeth began to nip and tug on his ear lobe, coxing a quiet groan from Ulquiorra. Grimmjow released a grunt in response, sending a thrill through his stomach. "Strike three." Grimmjow's voice was full of need. He felt Grimmjow's hand slide into his pants.

Ulquiorra rolled his head back, lips parting in bliss as Grimmjow began to tease him with long, painfully slow strokes. Ulquiorra could feel Grimmjow's lips hungrily kissing and nipping his neck. The blood rushing to his cock made thinking impossible, Grimmjow's scent had become unbearably potent, his lips burned against his skin. But he wasn't quitting, even if he had known from the beginning that he would lose.

At least he could come out of this saying he'd tried.

"Seito."

Silence. He felt Grimmjow grin. "Strike four. You're out."

And before he knew it, he was flat on his back against the sofa, Grimmjow was on him and his lips were crushed against Ulquiorra's. Ulquiorra had never been happier to lose in his life. And any amount of control Ulquiorra had left was gone and he was kissing him back vigorously, his hand tangling in his hair to deepen their kiss, not wanting a single inch of space left between them.

_Stop this._

Grimmjow's hands were on his hips and wrenching his jeans down and Ulquiorra lifted his hips to aid him. The instant they were off, Grimmjow began to grind his hips against Ulquiorra's. Ulquiorra groaned against his lips and arched his hips upward without thinking, needing more of that friction. Grimmjow's muffled curse made his arousal throb and he bucked his hips again.

_Stop it._

Grimmjow's tongue rubbed his lower lip, his teeth nipped and tugged at it. Ulquiorra let him in and he felt Grimmjow's tongue invade his mouth, rubbing against the roof of his mouth, his tongue tangling with Ulquiorra's. Grimmjow broke the kiss and pulled Ulquiorra's shirt over his head and tossed it to the floor.

_Stop._

Ulquiorra hastened to undo Grimmjow's pants and the instant his fly was down; Grimmjow slid out of them and began to rock his hips against Ulquiorra's. Their lips connected briefly in a series of quick, hungry kisses. Grimmjow broke the kiss with a teasing smirk, leaving Ulquiorra panting and bothered. Grimmjow began to kiss down his chest, pinching and rubbing his erect nipples and stopping to lick and suck his left one. Ulquiorra let his head fall back against the couch with a sigh.

He knew this needed to stop, it had to stop. But he couldn't bring himself to. He hadn't ever considered himself so weak willed. He felt pathetic. Grimmjow lips ventured further down, licking a warm trail down his stomach, dipping his tongue into his naval.

Christ that felt terrific. He _loved_ what this man was doing, he loved this _man_, he—

_When did I get so utterly pathetic?_

And just like that, sense came rushing back to him. He couldn't do this. It pained him to admit it, but it was true. This had to stop. If he let this go on another minute longer, everything would be out of his control. And it would be blissful, perfect, exotic-but he would regret it so badly. It took effort to speak because he didn't want this to end, but he forced himself to. "Stop it." He said, but his voice was too low. "Stop it," he repeated, much louder this time. Grimmjow lifted his head, his blue eyes cloudy with need. "The hell did you say?" he asked, confusion in his voice Those eyes were glorious and Ulquiorra nearly hesitated when he repeated himself as firmly as he could between pants. "I said stop it."

Ulquiorra already missed the feeling of his warm lips against his skin but he thought, _I'm doing the right thing. _Grimmjow's brow furrowed and he inched himself forward on his elbows until their face were level with one another. "Why?" Grimmjow asked. "Give me a good reason why." Ulquiorra said firmly, "Because I don't want to do this with you."

Grimmjow snorted. "That's a load of shit. Look at yourself, you're hard as a fucking rock and you expect me to believe you don't want this as much as I do? Get off your high horse." Grimmjow said, continuing to kiss at his neck and chest. Ulquiorra heaved a sigh and let his head fall against the couch. Why couldn't things be simple? Why couldn't Grimmjow just let him be without making things so difficult? He needed to explain and he needed to do it now. "Grimmjow, I want you to get off me." He ordered and Grimmjow heard the seriousness in his voice and looked up. "Shit. You're serious? Why, what the hell is it?" Ulquiorra pushed himself up onto his elbows and his words came pouring out of him, everything he had been holding back, everything he'd been needing to say all day escaped from him. "Yes, I am. I can't do this with you, Grimmjow. I can't live with you. This isn't working for me, alright? I need to get back to my life, I can't keeping having you distract me like this and-," Ulquiorra began and Grimmjow said, "You've gotta be kidding me! After all that? What the hell has been up with you today? You've been ignoring me left and right and now you're pushing me away! So what, am I beneath you now, is that it?" Grimmjow was starting to get angry now and Ulquiorra was starting to see an opening, a way to get him to leave.

"Yes, you are." He said and the instant the words left his mouth, he felt the falseness of them hit him hard in the heart. He hadn't been expecting to feel so guilty. He didn't feel this way at all towards him. He might have at first, but Grimmjow had somehow managed to prove him wrong by just being who he was. But he wanted Grimmjow to leave, he needed him to leave.

And he kept talking, though he truly didn't want to. "You are beneath me. Our ways of living are completely different. Our lives are completely different. And while at first, that may have been what I was attracted to in you, I've just now realized I was wrong about you."

_I don't mean it._

"Everything about you on the outside is colorful, vibrant, exciting. Inside however, you're shallow, you're empty, and you're boring. And the charismatic guise you wear is there to keep people from seeing it."

_No, it isn't. That isn't true._

"And I already have enough lies in my life without the edition of another one. So put your clothes back on and get out of my house."

And the look of Grimmjow's face was one Ulquiorra had never thought he'd see there. He looked so completely in shock, like someone had just taken a knife and stabbed him in the gut. And then there was rage in his face and for a moment, Ulquiorra thought he was going to hit him. But he didn't, instead he was on his feet and within seconds he had kicked over the coffee table, knocking it clean over with a resounding crash. Ulquiorra sat up in alarm. Grimmjow's back was to him, illuminated by the moving, colorful lights from the TV screen. His shoulders were heaving, his fists were clenched. Ulquiorra felt sickness stirring in his gut.

_I didn't mean any of it._

And before Ulquiorra could even consider taking it all back, Grimmjow turned around to face him. His jaw was clenched and his lips were set in a thin line, his eyebrows knit tightly together. "You know what, Cifer," he said, anger beginning to build in his voice, "I may be a big fucking lie to you, but at least I have the fucking _balls_ to live my big fucking lie of a life!"

Ulquiorra was silent, outwardly unfazed but internally regretting every single untrue word he'd said. He found it hard to look at him now. Grimmjow burst out, "And before you even fucking have the nerve to call people out on their lives, look at your own! You live your life on chains, you deny yourself everything!"

"And what is 'everything' to you? Sex with strangers and drowning yourself in liquor? At least I have dignity." Ulquiorra said defensively.

"You have _nothing_! You hide behind your massive apartment and your expensive furniture and your job, because without that you have nothing! And you just can't admit it, can you?" Grimmjow yelled.

"Well it seems we're both far more similar than we realized because if my life is empty, yours is just as equally and your attempts to hide it are even more pathetic and desperate than mine." Ulquiorra said, his voice threatening to rise.

"At least I'm attempting to fix it! And you know what, I'm not going to stand here and be judged by you!" Grimmjow exploded.

"Then go and fix it." Ulquiorra said, gesturing to the door. Grimmjow looked from the door to him, his eyes wide. Silence fell as Grimmjow held his gaze, searching his eyes for something, perhaps a sign that he might somehow be messing with him. "You're—you're fucking serious?" Grimmjow asked disbelief in his voice.

Ulquiorra was silent and Grimmjow must have taken that silence as the answer he was looking for. Shaking his head, he gathered his pants from the floor and pulled them back on and begun pulling on his shoes. Ulquiorra sat immobile on the couch, not feeling the satisfaction he would have expected.

He had gotten his way. Grimmjow was leaving. His life would return to normal. But he didn't feel proud of himself or relieved. He felt sick.

_Apologize to him. Tell him he can stay. Don't let him leave like this; he doesn't have anywhere to go. _

_And it's not my problem, _he argued.

Grimmjow headed to the door and stopped halfway there. Ulquiorra watched him intently. Grimmjow turned around and said, "You know something, I was actually stupid enough to think you were an alright guy. Fucking moronic, huh?" and beneath the bitter anger, there was hurt in his voice. And Grimmjow wrenched open the door and stormed out into the darkness, letting it slam behind him.

And the instant he was gone, Ulquiorra slumped against the couch, feeling completely and utterly drained.

* * *

Ulquiorra awoke at 7:00 the next morning, the same as he always did. He didn't feel particularly rested, he felt tired despite going to sleep early. With a yawn, he pushed himself from bed and headed towards his door. He opened it and stepped out into the cool hallway. The first thing he noticed was the silence in his house. There were no smells of fresh cooked food coming from downstairs, no sounds of someone bustling around in the kitchen and no gruff voice ordering him to come down and eat.

He told himself he was fine with that.

He headed down into the kitchen and grabbed a bowl, filled it with cereal and some milk and sat down at his overly large table. He wasn't sure what to do. There was no one sitting across from him to speak to. So he ate in silence as he normally did, very painfully aware of the sound of his spoon hitting against his bowl. He found himself glancing up occasionally as if looking for something only to find no one filled the empty seat across from him.

_Why have I always had another chair in the first place? _He thought. And so, after he was finished, he picked up the other chair and pushed it against the wall. It just made more sense that way. After that he showered. It woke him up a bit more but not by much. When he was done, he walked to his closet with a towel wrapped tight around his waist and began to search for shirts to wear for today.

In his closet were many different shirts, all of them various shades of gray and black. So it was only natural that the shirt Grimmjow had bought for him stuck out the most with its shade of bright pale green, its sleeves rolled up at the wrists, three buttons undone at the top. It looked more comfortable than his other shirts, less tight and more freeing. So he pulled it from his closet and before he could close the door, caught sight of a bag sitting on the floor.

He knelt down and opened it and realized it was the clothes he had bought Grimmjow, the jaguar skin vest sat at the top of the pile. _He didn't even take these with him when he left. He's got only a single pair of clothes now and if those get dirty, what then? He's got more pride than to walk around looking and smelling like a homeless person. _

_It doesn't matter, _he told himself, _he is beyond you now, and it's the way it should be. _But he didn't know what to do with his clothes. The proper thing would be to return them; assuming that the price tags hadn't been taken off. But for some reason, Ulquiorra didn't want to. Something inside him told him to keep them. _Why? There's no reason. He isn't coming back. These have no reason to be here now._

He checked the clothes and realized that Grimmjow must have taken the tags off. So returning them was out of the question now. It was more convenient for him this way anyway. Reluctantly, Ulquiorra picked up the bag and carried it downstairs and stopped before his trash can. He opened the lid and tilted the bag but realized he couldn't bring himself to throw them away. So he simply stood there like a fool, conflicted.

What was he so torn about? These clothes weren't his size, he'd never be able to wear them nor could he pull them off like Grimmjow could and he couldn't return them. It only made sense to throw them away. But—he just couldn't. They were the only reminder that at some point, there had been someone else in his life, someone exciting and unlike anyone he'd ever met before. Someone whom he had even thought he could care about, despite all of his flaws.

And so instead, he shoved the bag out of sight back in his closet, threw out the bottle of tequila Grimmjow had bought the previous night, placed the DVDs he'd bought in a drawer of his cabinet and left for work. His life was back to normal now. It was like the past two days had been some kind of strange dream. But he wasn't happy or content like he had thought he would be about it. Instead he felt empty and alone.

Ulquiorra reasoned with himself on his way to work that he really shouldn't be feeling this way. Grimmjow hadn't even been his friend; in fact, Ulquiorra wasn't sure what he had been to him. But no matter how he reasoned with himself, there was no denying that Grimmjow had been the closest thing he'd had to a friend.

_I'll get over it; _he thought bitterly as he entered his office, _by tomorrow, I'll have completely forgotten about him. _Work was uneventful but it took his mind off Grimmjow for at least a little while. As he moved through the hallways on his way to Starrk to show him the notes he'd prepared for a trial in a few weeks, he couldn't help but notice that at least everyone here had someone to talk to.

They were moving as briskly as he was, but with another person at their side, talking to one another. He ignored the twinge of jealous and longing he felt and continued towards Starrk's office. He didn't need friends. He had everything he needed, a good job, good pay, a great home—what could people offer him that he didn't already have? Anyway, he'd worked here for years now and during those years; no one had ever had a long lasting conversation with him.

If anyone did seek him out to compliment him on his accomplishments, they would soon leave because they thought Ulquiorra wasn't interested in talking with them. But that wasn't true at all. Ulquiorra did want to talk to them, but whenever anyone approached him, he never knew what to say. People often mistook that as a sign of disinterest from him and didn't bother approaching him anymore.

But what he'd liked about Grimmjow was that Grimmjow truly didn't give a damn if anyone wanted to talk to him or not because he was damn well going to talk anyway. It was that blatant carelessness that Ulquiorra both admired and disliked because Ulquiorra wished he had the bravery to be that way. Grimmjow just seemed to draw people to him; men flocked to be with him, heads turned as he walked by. Ulquiorra supposed that what he didn't like about Grimmjow was that he didn't take advantage of that charisma to make friends; he used it to get people in bed with him.

Ulquiorra knew that if he were that charismatic, he'd have taken the opportunity to make tons of friends by now. He guessed what annoyed him was that he just couldn't understand why Grimmjow wouldn't want to use his gift properly. If he wanted to, he could have everything Ulquiorra didn't while Ulquiorra himself couldn't even if he tried.

But instead he chose to be an outsider and Ulquiorra just couldn't understand it. And now that Grimmjow was gone, Ulquiorra wished he had taken the time to ask him why.

* * *

Later that day, Ulquiorra sat in his office. A rainstorm had started an hour ago, the wind slammed and whistled against the building and thunder boomed outside. Ulquiorra was finding it hard to concentrate. He looked outside every now and then at the heavy rain and felt a growing sense of unease inside him. Grimmjow was probably out in that right now, staggering through the streets, unable to see a few feet in front of him.

_Or he's flat on his face, freezing to death in some desolate street, _he thought, brow furrowing. He was beginning to worry. _Stop it, this is ridiculous. He is no longer your concern. If he is dead, it is his problem—though, that technically isn't true isn't it? I kicked him out, if he is dead, his death is on my conscious._

With a frustrated sigh, he ran his hand through his hair and attempted to continue his notes. _He's a smart man. He's probably found shelter somewhere. If he truly is stupid enough that he hasn't, he isn't worth any of my concern. _And with that thought in mind, he began to write some more. He shouldn't even be as worried as he was about Grimmjow anyway. He wasn't supposed to care about him.

Thunder boomed outside and he was jolted from his thoughts. He sighed, trying not to imagine Grimmjow soaked to his skin and freezing. He scowled and returned to his work, growing frustrated. _There are only a few more things to fix here and then you'll be done for the day. Are you so fixated by that wreck of a human being that you can't focus? _He thought angrily. He looked away from his screen and towards the people walking by outside his office, talking to each other, smiling at one another.

_At least he's a proud wreck, at least he has the courage to try and fix it. And if he's a wreck, he's a perceptive one. He is right. My life is empty and he knows it bothers me. How is that? How is it that a complete stranger could so much as look at me and know what is troubling me? And he, intentionally or not, tried to fix it, too. He barely even knows or likes me but he spent time with me when it would have been far easier to ignore me._

_Perhaps we weren't so different?_

_Perhaps he was just as lonely as I was._

_But I'll never know now, will I? Because I just went and threw the closest thing I had to a friend out of my life, _Ulquiorra thought bitterly, staring out the window into the rain. _I'm a fool. Here I am, day after day, wishing for some form of companionship and I go and toss someone who could have given me just that. And it's time to stop thinking about it. Thinking about it won't fix it. _Slipping his eyes closed, he breathed a quiet sigh into his fist.

He would get over this, he knew he would. But right now, he needed to work. Starrk wanted these done as soon as possible.

His phone rang and he picked it up and answered, "Ulquiorra Cifer speaking. Can I help you?"

"Hello, Mr. Cifer, this is Officer Brien speaking." Ulquiorra knew this man. He was a patrol officer in his neighborhood; they had met once or twice in passing, but Ulquiorra wasn't sure why he was calling. "What is it?"

"There was a bar fight in The Drunken Pony just a few minutes ago, the guy who caused it is drunk off his ass, but he keeps cursing out a certain someone named Ulquiorra Cifer. I think he wants to speak to you." And Ulquiorra sat up right in his chair, his brow furrowing in disbelief. There was no way…

"What does he look like?"

"Big guy, at least six feet, blue hair—,"

_Impossible…_

"…I know him." Ulquiorra responded. "Great. Come down and get him, he's causing a scene."

Ulquiorra didn't know what else to say except, "I'll be right down." He hung up and sat there in silence.

He didn't know what to do. Honestly, it was in his best interest to leave Grimmjow to deal with his own problems. Bringing him back into his life wasn't ideal. Despite that he sometimes viewed his life as lonely, it was safer that way. Solitude was what he was used to; he was more in control of his life and his emotions that way. He never had to worry about keeping in touch, being disappointed by that person or having bad feelings if that relationship fell apart. His life was so simple without people in it.

But it was also lonely, very, _very_ lonely. And no matter how much new furniture he bought to fill up the empty spaces in his home, no matter how good he was at his job or how much money he made that he did absolutely nothing with—nothing would fix that except having another person to share his life with, no matter how short lived it might be.

Grimmjow had come in like a hurricane and while it had scared him and left him unsure, confused and overwhelmed by many different kinds of emotions, he had brought color to his life in the simplest ways during the very short period that they'd lived together. He had made Ulquiorra realize the benefits of having someone else in his life.

And Ulquiorra wanted him back. And before he knew it, he was on his feet and heading out of his office. He would continue his work later, right now, he had a very pissed off, drunk, blue haired man to tend to.

* * *

He wasn't an impulsive person but here he was, ditching work and sitting in a cab in the rain on his way to pick up someone he had kicked out a day ago. And all he could think about was how stupid he'd been to tell him to leave, it had created a much bigger problem than it had solved one. But at least he had an understanding of his own feelings now. He still felt foolish, though. Regardless of how scared he'd been, it had been immature of him to kick him out and say so many awful things to him knowing full well that he had nowhere else to go. Ulquiorra could only hope he'd listen. _What am I doing? _He hadn't thought this through at all. It was so unlike him. He didn't know what he'd say to Grimmjow or even if the man would agree to come back. _I'm skipping work for him. He had absolutely better listen to me. _

The rain was relentless; it only seemed to get heavier during the drive to The Drunken Pony. The cab rounded the corner, the bar was in sight, and suddenly, someone stumbled into the street ahead of them! The cab screeched to a halt and Ulquiorra's heart jumped into his chest as the cab bumped into the person, knocking them over. "Shit! What the hell was that guy thinking?!" the driver exclaimed, unbuckling and climbing out. Ulquiorra followed him and stepped out into the rain, his heart hammering. _Just what I need, a death. _He peered around the car, expecting to see a bloodied corpse. Instead he was greeted by very loud drunken swearing as the man heaved himself to his feet. "Wha th' fuck is your problem, you piece'a shit?! Are you blind? Huh?" while the driver apologized profusely, Ulquiorra caught a look at the drunk's face.

It was Grimmjow! Ulquiorra called to him, "Grimmjow, are you alright?" it was a useless question, but it was still worth asking. Grimmjow's head turned in his direction and he staggered backwards at little, his arms raised as if ready to latch onto something. He seemed to recognize him because anger entered his face.

"Well, look who it is, boys and girls," he said loudly, leaning too far to the side and nearly falling over and seizing a lamppost to catch himself. "It's Ulquiorra McFucker! Gee fuckin' whizz!" Ulquiorra sighed, not in the mood for his drunken rambling. "Well, what the _fuck _are you doing here in this side of good ol' fuckin' New York?" Grimmjow asked, hitting him on the shoulder. "Come here to gloat at all the people beneath you? Not gotten your fill from last night? Well you're in luck! Cause they're _everywhere_!" Grimmjow exclaimed, gesturing around the street and nearly falling over. Ulquiorra tensed but Grimmjow caught himself on the railing.

"Shall I introduce ya to some of 'em? Come on!" Grimmjow seized his wrist and Ulquiorra knew he needed to say something quickly. He grabbed onto his arm and said, "Stop it. I've come to talk to you and I want you to hear me out." Grimmjow paused and said, lifting his hand to his ear, "What's that? Sorry! I can't hear you because I'm too fucking beneath you." He wrenched his arm away from Ulquiorra's and began to stagger away down the street. Ulquiorra tucked his cold hands into his pocket and followed him and said, "I didn't mean that. I didn't mean any of it." This was hopeless; Grimmjow wasn't ever going to listen to him. He was too intoxicated and too bitter.

"Grimmjow, I want you to come back." He called. "Fuck you! I don't need you! I don't need anyone but me!" Grimmjow barked and he staggered, lost his balance and collapsed on the ground. Ulquiorra hurried over to him, concerned when he showed no signs of standing up. Ulquiorra knelt down beside him and gripped his arm. "You're alright? Get up. In your state you're more likely to freeze or get a concussion than you are to find help—," Ulquiorra began but Grimmjow suddenly and violently swatted his arm away, a look of pure anger on his face.

Grimmjow clumsily grabbed onto his coat and hissed, "Don't you dare look down on me, Cifer. Don't you, fucking, dare." There was such a look of anger in his eyes. Ulquiorra said calmly, "I'm not. And I wasn't last night. I don't think that way about you." Grimmjow stammered, "Then—then why are you saying this, huh? You hate me. I know you do. You think I'm pathetic, you're thinkin' that right now, aren't you?"

Ulquiorra insisted firmly, "I'm _not_. And I don't hate you."

"Why not?" Grimmjow burst out. "Everyone else fucking does! So what's so special about me that you don't hate me, huh? Do you want something from me? Is that it?"

"No, I—," Ulquiorra began, starting to grow frustrated.

Grimmjow said, "I _am_ pathetic." His tone wasn't angry now, instead it was just full of bitter acceptance. "I am so fucking pathetic, you know that? Look a' me. I'm drunk off my ass, I can't fucking see straight, I can't fucking stand up…why the fuck do I do this to myself, huh? I am pathetic. I am so, fucking pathetic!" and he promptly buried his face in his arm and hit his empty bottle against the cold, wet cement. Ulquiorra simply knelt beside him, unsure what to do or say. He had no experience with emotional drunks. He was beginning to feel as miserable as Grimmjow was.

"What the fuck happened to my life, man?" Grimmjow asked his voice muffled and barely indistinguishable. "I'm such a fucking wreck, you were right." Ulquiorra felt a pang of guilt and said, "No, you're not. I was just—," And suddenly Grimmjow snapped, looking up at him with hurt in his eyes, "But you still didn't have to say that! What the fuck was that shit?" he exclaimed, burying his face back in his arm. Ulquiorra sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I don't know. But I didn't mean it. Any of it." Grimmjow was silent and Ulquiorra said, "Do you have a place to go?"

"No." Grimmjow responded miserably, huddling under his jacket for warmth. "Then let's go." Ulquiorra said, extending hand to him. Grimmjow looked over his shoulder at him. "Where exactly?" Ulquiorra responded, "Home." Grimmjow's eyes widened and he saw surprise shining in his eyes. It was gone and his eyes were cold again. "No." he said, he almost sounded like he was pouting.

"So are you just going to lie here all night?" Ulquiorra asked. "Yeah." Grimmjow responded. "You have nowhere else to go." Ulquiorra reasoned. Grimmjow argued, "I'll sleep under a cardboard box." Ulquiorra was getting tired of this. He knelt back down beside him and said firmly, "Listen to me, there is no pride to found in freezing to death on the sidewalk because you were too drunk to accept help when someone offered it."

Grimmjow turned around and would have shoved him but he missed. "Go fuck yourself!" And Ulquiorra finally had it. He said, "Fine. If that's your answer, then fine." He stood up and said, "Before this, I might have actually had some minimum of respect for you. But seeing how you hold yourself with such disregard is absolutely revolting to me. I thought you were better than this, smarter than this. You're right, Grimmjow, you are pathetic,"

As he spoke, Grimmjow's eyes narrowed and came to life as anger lit them up and his lips went from a miserable frown to a deep scowl.

Ulquiorra said, "And I refuse to affiliate myself with someone so low." And he turned on his heel and began to walk away. He was halfway down the street when Grimmjow barked, "Where the hell do you think you're going?" Ulquiorra stopped and felt a small flare of pride in him when he heard the anger in Grimmjow's voice. "You can't just walk away after saying shit like that!"

Ulquiorra turned around and said, "Then prove me wrong." The anger left Grimmjow's face and he looked determined now. "Fine." He said and he began to walk towards him. He grabbed Ulquiorra's arm and began to pull him away down the street, staggering every now and then. Ulquiorra felt a large feeling of satisfaction in his chest. This was more like the Grimmjow he knew. But he couldn't help but wonder if Grimmjow knew where he was going.

Grimmjow stopped. "Where's your house?" he asked. And, feeling mildly amused, Ulquiorra walked back to the cab driver, who had been watching from afar this whole time, and asked for a ride back.

* * *

The instant they were home, Ulquiorra told Grimmjow to wait downstairs while he prepared the shower. He entered the bathroom and turned on the shower and set a mat down on the floor of the tub to prevent him from slipping. He returned to Grimmjow to find him attempting to get out of his soaked clothes. But he was hung over and groggy and the clothes were wet, making them hard to remove.

Ulquiorra helped pull off his jacket and Grimmjow's fingers began fumbling with the buttons of his shirt. Ulquiorra hastened to help him. Grimmjow said, "I got it." and continued to clumsily undo his buttons. Ulquiorra sat patiently on the sofa beside him, looking for any signs that he might need assistance. Grimmjow struggled with one and Ulquiorra said, "Let me." and reached over to help him. Grimmjow said impatiently, moving away from Ulquiorra, "I just said—," Ulquiorra said, "I know what you said. But this will go much faster if I assist you." And before Grimmjow could protest, Ulquiorra was unbuttoning his shirt. Grimmjow sighed, lolling his head back. "You're stubborn as fuck."

"At least I'm sensible and know when to accept help." Ulquiorra said and he heaved Grimmjow to his feet and pulled the sluggish man towards the stairs. Grimmjow staggered as they neared them and Ulquiorra glanced at him. He looked so worn down; his lids kept drooping, he was unable to stand up straight. He reached for the railing and missed and nearly fell over but Ulquiorra tucked an arm around his waist.

"Fuck, why do I do this to myself?" Grimmjow moaned. "Lemme go. I feel shitty enough."

Ulquiorra said, "Be quiet." He needed to figure out how he'd get him up the stairs. He wasn't sure how good Grimmjow's vision was. "Just move." Grimmjow ordered, swaying. Ulquiorra took a single step and Grimmjow copied him and they began a slow climb up the stairs. "We're nearly there." Ulquiorra informed him. They took it one step at a time, Grimmjow swaying here and there and nearly missing a step, causing Ulquiorra some mild panic when he nearly slipped and dragged them both down. They were halfway up now. Ulquiorra's staircase had never felt this long before. At last, they reached the top. "We're up." Ulquiorra said as he placed his foot on the last step. "No shit…" Grimmjow muttered, closing his eyes with a groan. He ducked under his arm and staggered towards the door and fell against it, grasping the knob. Ulquiorra was concerned about how he'd stand up in the shower.

Grimmjow opened the door clumsily and walked slowly inside and sat down on the toilet seat in order to better remove his pants. Ulquiorra said, "Sit down in the shower. It will be safer than standing." Grimmjow just gave a sigh and nodded, his head hung low against his chest. It was clear he felt ashamed of himself. Ulquiorra said, "If it is any consolation, Grimmjow, I am not thinking any less of you."

"Just be quiet." Grimmjow grunted, heaving one leg out of his drenched jeans. "Get lost. I can handle m'self from 'ere." He slurred. "Less you wanna see me naked." He added, wrenching hard on his jeans to try and get his final leg out. He suddenly lay back, shutting his eyes tightly with a groan. He looked so utterly miserable; Ulquiorra couldn't help but feel a little bad for him.

Ulquiorra said, "Let me know when you're done."

"Got it." And Ulquiorra left the bathroom. He waited outside the door however, briefly leaving to change into his sleepwear. he heard Grimmjow shut off the shower and he staggered outside in his underwear. He caught sight of Ulquiorra and sighed. "You waited, huh? What for?" Ulquiorra answered, "I wanted to make sure you did what I suggested and sat down in the shower."

Grimmjow ran a hand over his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Fuckin' Christ…you got any headache medicine or what?" Ulquiorra frowned. Why hadn't he thought of that? "Go sit on the bed. I'll bring it to you." And when Grimmjow frowned, Ulquiorra said, "Do it. You and I both know you couldn't make it down these stairs. And that's the truth, not an insult. Your masculinity has been recognized from day one, you have no need to defend it around me." Ulquiorra added, descending the stairs into the dark living area below.

When Ulquiorra returned with a glass of water and a pill, he found Grimmjow stretched out on his bed, lying so still he looked like he was sleeping. He pushed himself up when Ulquiorra neared and Ulquiorra handed him the pill and the water and Grimmjow reached out with shaking hands for the glass. Ulquiorra handed it to him but kept his hand placed on it to ensure it didn't fall. Grimmjow took the pill and shakily drank the water. He didn't drink much and quickly lay back, looking as if even the act of drinking had been exhausting. Ulquiorra set the glass on the bedside table. Now that he was in the light, Ulquiorra took notice of several small cuts on his face as well as bruises. Grimmjow said with a tired smirk, "You should see the other guys. Beat 'em up pretty good. Coulda gone worse considerin' how wasted I was…Surprised I got away with this much." he added, was beginning to suspect that this happened a lot to him.

"The hell were you doin' all the way out there?" Grimmjow asked. Ulquiorra said, "You were asking for me, weren't you?" Grimmjow's brow furrowed, his lips pursed. "Nah, don't think so." He said groggily, slipping his eyes shut. Ulquiorra kicked off his shoes and climbed into bed beside him. He lay back against the mattress and Grimmjow opened his eyes and glanced over at him. Grimmjow looked unsure about something. Before Ulquiorra could ask, Grimmjow seemed to come to some conclusion and heaved his legs over the bed. "I'll crash on your sofa and I'll be outta here by morning." Ulquiorra was confused. He hadn't said anything to Grimmjow about leaving. If anything he thought he'd made it obvious that Grimmjow was welcome here. He quickly said, "There's no need to." Grimmjow stopped in the doorway and looked over his shoulder. "No need to what?"

"Leave." Ulquiorra answered. "You can make yourself comfortable as long as you want." Surprise was beginning to show in Grimmjow's face. "You…you serious?" he asked. Ulquiorra said, "Unless you have another place in mind, then yes, I am."

"But-what? I thought you didn't want me here!" Grimmjow said, looking bemused. Ulquiorra took a moment to reply, unsure exactly how to tell him without saying that he basically threw him out because he was so very, very attracted to him and still was. "I have realized that, despite how vibrant and at times blinding it may be, it doesn't hurt to have some color in my life. In fact, I actually may have become rather accustomed to it." That was the best he could do and honestly, he thought it was pretty accurate. And a grin was lifting the corners of Grimmjow's lips, giving his eyes a crinkle that somehow lit up his face. Watching him, Ulquiorra felt warmth enter his chest and to keep himself from staring too long into Grimmjow's beaming face, he rolled over onto his back and stared up at the cieling. "That was the cheesiest shit I've ever heard in my life." Grimmjow said, amusement in his voice. Ulquiorra sighed. "I can't imagine you could come up with something better."

"Ulquiorra, I wouldn't say that _shit_ unless you _threatened_ me." Grimmjow said, starting to laugh, but his laugh wasn't mocking, it was actually rather warm. Ulquiorra rolled his eyes. "Go to sleep." he said firmly.

Grimmjow eagerly headed back to his bed and buried himself beneath the covers. Ulquiorra noted to himself that he hadn't actually said Grimmjow could sleep in his bed. But looking at how comfortable he looked, Ulquiorra decided to let it slide. He was too tired to help him back down the stairs anyway. He reached over and turned off the light, flooding the room in darkness. Lying there beside him, Ulquiorra was reminded of something, a question he wanted an answer to. Ulquiorra said, "One more thing," and Grimmjow grunted in response. " You're charismatic, you're interesting, yet from what I know of you, you choose not to make any long term commitments. Why? If you tried, you could have as many friends as you wanted. So why are you alone? I don't understand."

He could feel Grimmjow's eyes on him in the dark. "I don't do friends. It makes my life just a little simpler. And for another, who the hell could handle me? No one wants to deal with my shit, and I don't wanna deal with theirs."

Silence fell and Ulquiorra began to realize that they were more similar than they wanted to admit. And then Grimmjow added, "No one wants to deal with me—except you. And I don't know why and I don't care why. But you have." Ulquiorra realized that Grimmjow was thanking him. And then Grimmjow said, "And you know what, you too could get anyone if you wanted to, Ulqui. You ain't as bad as you give yourself credit for, you know that?" Had Grimmjow just complimented him? Ulquiorra turned his head to find that his companion had turned away from him. "You, too, Grimmjow." Ulquiorra murmured, a feeling of affection in his chest. He had no idea Grimmjow thought that way about him. But he didn't agree with his statement. Ulquiorra wasn't brave enough to socialize with people. He had too many bad experiences. But somehow, he couldn't count his encounter with Grimmjow was one of them. So perhaps, that was a start.

Grimmjow fell asleep beside him and Ulquiorra lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling. It was true that not many people would be able to live with him the way Ulquiorra had. In fact, Ulquiorra didn't know how he was managing as well as he was. But Ulquiorra now knew that despite everything, despite his fears of what their future in this house together held, despite how difficult he was, he wanted Grimmjow around.

He was still unsure, still nervous about what his feelings-and even what this relationship of theirs-could develop into. Because their relationship was changing and it was impossible to deny it. But lying there in the dark and listening to the sound of another person breathing softly beside him, Ulquiorra knew that he'd made the right choice. He wasn't alone anymore.

And that was enough to put his wandering mind at rest.


	4. Hunted

Chapter 4

If Ulquiorra had been aware of the events that were to befall himself and his guest during the day, Ulquiorra never would have wanted to wake up and face today. He would have been more content to fast-forward over it to the part where things worked out.

He wasn't the type to think such things but if he could send a message to his past self, he would have sent out a warning not to let Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez into his life. Though, how he would manage to word it would be difficult as he didn't know how to explain all that had happened and likely, his past self wouldn't believe it anyway.

So for now, he would sit here in this train car and fear for his life and reflect on how, only a few hours ago, the biggest worry in his life was that he had a stranger living with him and that he honestly wasn't sure why he'd let him back into his life when it could have been so easy to let him go. And now, he felt like saving Grimmjow was the biggest mistake he'd ever made.

Because of him, Ulquiorra's quiet life was gone and Ulquiorra didn't know when he'd get it back, or if he ever would.

* * *

Ulquiorra woke up at seven like he normally did, which would have pleased him if he weren't so exhausted from last night. Since meeting Grimmjow it seemed he either woke up late, or he woke up on time but feeling like he'd been run over by a train. With a tired sigh, he knew he'd have to get up and start his day. But when he made to move, he realized there was a weight on his chest. Startled, he looked down to find Grimmjow deep asleep and with his arms tight around him.

He sighed. _That's right, I told him he could sleep here…Why exactly did I do that? _He couldn't remember. But he had to admit, he wasn't displeased to see him, just displeased that he was invading his space. But despite it all, he found himself enjoying Grimmjow's warmth—until he stretched out and his leg rubbed against something very… flaccid.

_Oh God. _

This was how Ulquiorra found out that Grimmjow liked to sleep naked.

Ulquiorra scrambled out of bed and Grimmjow jolted awake with an exclamation of shock. "Christ! What the hell is your problem?" he asked, wide eyed. Ulquiorra said, "Nothing. I forgot you were here." Grimmjow scoffed. "Sure you did." He rolled over onto his back with a tired groan.

"Can believe you get up this early…what are you, dead?" Grimmjow mumbled. Now feeling rather uncomfortable, Ulquiorra decided it was best to make his way to the bathroom for a shower. _At least only one of us was naked._

The bedroom door closed and Grimmjow breathed and tired sigh and turned over onto his back, latching onto Ulquiorra's pillow and burying his face in it. "Weirdo…" he mumbled. He suddenly became aware of just how good the sheets felt against his skin.

_This guy's so anal about everything I wouldn't be surprised if he had the best sheets in the city…_They were so soft against his skin, it was almost like he wasn't wearing underwear. He needed to make a mental note to buy these when he got a place of his own. It was only when his hand lazily wandered down to scratch an itch on his lower back that it clicked.

And when he realized what Ulquiorra had been so freaked out about, he exploded into a fit of laughter!

* * *

When Ulquiorra emerged from the bathroom, his hair damp from the shower, a pleasant smell hit his nostrils. Curious, he peered downstairs and could hear movement in the kitchen. He ventured downstairs with a rumble in his stomach and found Grimmjow standing in front of his stove and flipping pancakes. And right away, he felt some sense of rightness. It was good to have him back-and not only because he was making delicious smelling food.

"Bout time. How many of these do you want?" he asked. Ulquiorra wasn't sure when Grimmjow had become the cook of the household; he supposed now that Grimmjow wasn't quarantined to the sofa, he wanted to be as active as possible. And Ulquiorra found he was alright with that. It didn't hurt to have someone else preparing meals and he was pleasantly surprised Grimmjow was actually helping out. He answered, "Two." Grimmjow said, "Oh…No, fuck that. You're having five. I made _way_ too many of these things."

Ulquiorra sighed. Leave it to Grimmjow to completely ignore his answer. He seated himself at the table and Grimmjow soon joined him with two plates in hand. He slid one down the table to him and quickly began to eat. Ulquiorra began to eat as well but became distracted when Grimmjow practically drowned his pancakes in syrup.

They had only been apart for half a day and Ulquiorra hadn't realized how much he liked the sound of another person eating with him. He ignored these thoughts and concentrated on his food. He didn't imagine this arrangement of theirs would last too long anyway. Grimmjow would eventually leave and go…somewhere.

Ulquiorra suddenly realized he had no clue where Grimmjow lived. The closest thing to a home he'd seen had been the hotel he'd been staying in.

Suddenly, Grimmjow said, "I woke up with a hangover this morning. So…how bad was I?" Ulquiorra paused his eating, confused at his question. "How bad were you drunk?"

"Yeah."

"You could barely stand up for one thing. When I found you, the cab I was riding in nearly ran you over because you had stumbled out into the street. For another thing, you just lay down on the sidewalk and refused to get up," Grimmjow's gaze got wider with each word Ulquiorra's spoke. "You looked ready to lie there until you froze to death." Ulquiorra said. Grimmjow had stopped eating. He looked mortified. "Shit! Christ, I could have been killed! It's a good thing you were there…Wait, why was I outside?"

"You had a fight and got kicked out." Ulquiorra explained. Grimmjow's face was now set in a scowl. "I must have looked so pathetic." Ulquiorra said, "You did." Grimmjow hit his fist against the table and Ulquiorra looked up sharply. "Dammit! I thought I told myself enough of this bullshit! Fuck, how much money did I spend on those damn drinks?" Grimmjow hastily checked his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He slammed it down on the table. "I spent thirty fucking dollars! Thirty! I can't afford to spend that much! Holy—!"

Ulquiorra said, "Surely you have more money than that. There's not much reason to—," Grimmjow interrupted, "No, I don't. I have maybe enough money to last a few months assuming I don't spend too much. Not nearly enough to rent a hotel room for months. And the job I want pays little to nothing for a while. You see now why I needed to stay here?" Grimmjow shook his head. "And I spent most of it on booze. I don't have a lot of money, Ulquiorra; I can't afford to throw it around! I'm so pissed at myself, god dammit!" he mumbled, putting his face in his hand. Ulquiorra said, "You needn't worry about money here, in case you've forgotten, I'm the one buying things for you."

Grimmjow looked up at him and Ulquiorra saw his face soften. "Yeah, I know." He said with appreciation in his voice. He began chewing his food and then quickly swallowed and added, "I'm not going to drink anymore. I swear, this time, I'm done with that shit. I'm _done_ with it." He said this more to himself than he did with Ulquiorra. Ulquiorra was silent but inwardly thought that Grimmjow might actually be successful in his resolution. Grimmjow was a very determined person.

"I probably should have asked you this much earlier but do you even have a place to live?" Ulquiorra asked. Grimmjow said, "Actually, I do. It ain't ready yet though."

"Renovation?" Ulquiorra asked.

"Yeah. Before I arrived in this country I found a great apartment. You should see it, Cifer. The place is real old, but they're remodeling the whole building, it should be done and ready to open at the end of the year. You should see the pictures; it looks like it'll be fucking fantastic! The apartments are huge, the views are great…it looks amazing. Anyway, I bought one of the apartments, used up about every cent in my pocket to buy it, too. Next, I hopped on a plane outta Japan as soon as I could with what little money I had left. I don't regret it one, damn bit. I'll be living the good life, just you wait!"

Ulquiorra couldn't help but be entranced by his excitement. All he was doing was talking about a building, but from his tone and the light that came into his eyes—anyone would have thought he was speaking of a utopia. The look in his eyes was truly captivating to Ulquiorra. From the way his face seemed to shine, it was so easy to imagine that in his mind, he was standing before his future home right now. And strangely enough, Ulquiorra could almost see it with him.

"Wait, you left _before _the renovation was done and spent _all_ of your money on this apartment?" Ulquiorra asked, snapping himself out of his uncharacteristic vision of bright polished, wooden floors, white furniture, and windows that offered spectacular views of the city, and finding himself alarmed by this man's planning—or lack thereof.

"You bet your pretty little ass I left as soon as I could. I wasn't spending another minute at home…" He paused and scoffed. "Home. That bullshit never once felt like home. I'm tellin' you, Cifer, that_ apartment_ will be my home. _New York_ is going to be my home. And anyone who tells me any different is gonna meet my fist." Grimmjow said and Ulquiorra could tell he truly meant this by the look in his eyes and the almost dangerous scowl on his face. He truly looked as if he were just waiting—_daring_— for someone to try and tell him any different.

Ulquiorra was surprised he felt so strongly about it. Ulquiorra personally didn't see what was so special about New York but then, he wasn't some bright-eyed newcomer. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he wanted to know more about Grimmjow's history and why he disliked his former "home". _But I shouldn't be. _Ulquiorra was quiet, his gaze still on Grimmjow's face.

"You have plans to support yourself?" Ulquiorra asked.

Grimmjow said with a snort, "_Course_. One of my main reasons for choosing this city was all the great wrestlers that are trained here. They day you spilled your coffee on me, I was heading to apply. Actually, I think they told me they'd have tryout spots open next month." Grimmjow added excitedly. Ulquiorra wasn't too surprised about his job choice; Grimmjow had the look of a fighter about him.

"I can't imagine ever having a career like that. What made you choose it?" Ulquiorra asked. Grimmjow said briskly, getting to his feet, "Well I ain't exactly a painter or a dancer, Ulquiorra. Anymore questions? You're chattin' up a damn storm and I gotta go get dressed."

Ulquiorra realized Grimmjow was right and for a moment he was surprised at himself. It just seemed that when he was around Grimmjow, he could chatter none stop. "None." He said, looking towards the clock and realizing that he would need to get dressed, too. Grimmjow moved quickly by him, stopping in the kitchen to quickly put his plate in the sink before he headed upstairs and entered the bedroom.

Grimmjow closed the door behind him and moved quickly towards the closet to get his clothes. Ulquiorra had been very chatty this morning. Normally when they spoke he said at least a few things but never that much. He began to pull on his pants.

_Guess the guy likes me more than he thinks, _he thought smugly, a smirk beginning to spread across his face. _Hey, there's somethin' to pester him about—,_

Before he could think more on it, he tensed when he heard it.

The distant howl of police sirens.

The sirens drew closer and Grimmjow turned his head towards the window to listen better. The sirens began to fade and Grimmjow relaxed a little.

_The hell was I getting so jumpy for? Heh. I've got nothing to worry about from them. _He smirked..

_Nothing at all!_

* * *

Isshin Kurosaki, chief of the NYPD police, woke with a smile, contemplating ways to prank his son, Ichigo, who was most likely still asleep, exhausted from his flight the previous night. With an evil cackle, he rose and crept to his son's room. He couldn't have the boy getting soft on him! Especially not since his son was the newly (as of last year) appointed officer on the force in Japan. He had to make sure the Japanese police knew their stuff just as well as the American police did. It would be disgraceful if his own father didn't teach him a thing or two about being on his toes every now and then.

He gripped the doorknob, turning it slowly, before throwing it wide—!

The door slammed right into his face, sending him staggering backwards, clutching his nose. "Ow, my nose, you little—!" he exclaimed and his son stepped out and said impatiently, "Dad, if you honestly thought I was stupid enough to fall for that after you've pulled that same stupid shit on me since the moment I was born, you're stupider than I thought you were!"

Isshin suddenly grinned and said, "You're learning, Ichigo! Excellent!"

"Learning? A five year old would learn from that! Now get outta my way already or I'll be late which by the way, is something you should have been concerned about in the first place! Geez!" Ichigo stomped downstairs and Isshin rubbed his nose. Despite the pain, he still felt proud of his son. Ichigo could be thick as a plank of wood from time to time at home but on the job, Isshin heard nothing but good things about his son.

He had only been using a gun a short amount of time but he knew precisely when to and not to use it and when he did, his aiming was astounding. Despite the stupidity he seemed to have at home, on the job he was told to be sharp as nails. Isshin would have been lying to say he wasn't proud of his son—even if he was beginning to suspect he was gay due to his lack of girlfriends.

Oh well. It was good to see him again, while Isshin had wanted to move down to America to better pursue his career, Ichigo had wanted to stay in Japan and continue serving the police there. He had come to America because he felt responsible for the escape of a criminal from Japan. The last Ichigo heard, he was said to be here in the city. The phone rang downstairs and Isshin called, "I'll get it!" but Ichigo had already answered.

Ichigo said, "Yo, this is Ichigo Kurosaki speaking."

"Ichigo? Oh, you're Isshin's son right? This is Lieutenant Horvath of the NYPD."

"Yeah, I arrived in America just last night when I got the say-so from the police in Japan. So, have you got anything on him?"

"There was a shootout at Hotel Grandes three days ago. We have the guy's gun but his whereabouts are completely unknown to us."

"His gun?" Ichigo asked. "Just track down the gun dealer and he'll supply us with as much information as he can."

"Huh, if you're that eager, I'm sure your father would be happy to send you after this bastard. We heard what the Japs say about you, you're the best of the best for the rank you're at."

"That would be great! I'll be down there in a second." He hung up and turned to his father and said, "I'm in luck, dad. The guy who fled from Japan was in a gunfight a few nights ago. They have some information on him."

Isshin turned around to look at him, clutching a carton of eggs in his hand. "Is that so? Let's head down there after breakfast, then. I personally just think he's some dumb thug, but if we have him, it's best to move in on him."

Ichigo said, pulling on his jacket. "I'm going now, dad. It's our job to catch this asshole. It's_ my_ job. Not after lunch or dinner, _now_. See you there." And Ichigo was out the door in moments. Isshin glared at him, seemingly annoyed by his implications that he thought his father was unconcerned. It was just that after working in this career for so long, guys like this guy just practically walked into the hands of the police after a while.

"Hmp. That's my boy." He added with a smile. It was good to see his son so dedicated to his work.

* * *

It was nearing time for Ulquiorra to head to work and he was doing up his tie. He arrived downstairs and saw Grimmjow seated on the sofa watching the TV he himself hardly used. Ulquiorra was reluctant to leave him at home by himself. The guy had gotten into a bar fight last night, could he be trusted not to get himself killed while he was gone?

"Should I hire a sitter for you? Or can I actually trust you to your own devices?" Ulquiorra asked.

Grimmjow sighed and said, "What the hell do you think I'm gonna do? Blow your home up? Steal from you? I ain't that low, Ulquiorra. Get going." Grimmjow ordered.

Ulquiorra was about to say he hadn't expected Grimmjow to do any of those things but decided not to waste anymore time talking. He headed to the door and stepped outside. "Hey!" Ulquiorra paused and looked around. Grimmjow was grinning. "We never did watch those Clint Eastwood movies I rented. Movie date tonight?"

_How unexpected. _Ulquiorra was beginning to think he may actually like Grimmjow more than he thought—at least if he hadn't rented _Every Which Way but Loose. _

"I'm not sure about a date, but otherwise…that sounds pleasant." Ulquiorra agreed. The idea excited him far more than he wanted to admit. Grimmjow grinned back radiantly at him. "Sweet. Don't be late."

And Ulquiorra left his apartment with a light feeling in his chest that he hadn't felt in quite some time. In fact, if he were a different, much less uptight person, he might have even smiled on his way to work.

He was beginning to think he'd finally found a friend.

* * *

Isshin arrived at work and, with Ichigo behind him, headed into the lab where Tousen Kaname sat at his desk. "Ah, you're here." The man stated, setting a gun down on a scanner. "Ichigo, this is Tousen Kaname." Isshin said and Ichigo shook his hand. "There sure are a lot of guys from Asia on the American police force." Ichigo noted.

"A lot of them come here for the same reasons I do." Isshin said, sitting down beside Kaname and saying, "What do we have?" Tousen scanned the gun and not only finger prints but a whole scan of a hand turned up on the screen.

Ichigo saw a picture of the guy's face pop up to the left as well as various information. His name was Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. His whereabouts were unknown. The same information he'd been given back in Japan. "This guy is like a ghost." Ichigo said, frowning. "I've never even seen him in action. You don't even know this guy's committed a crime until the evidence turns up. But I'm closer than I was back in Japan." Ichigo gestured to the gun and said, "This gun is a start. If you'll let me, I'd like to ask around."

The phone rang beside Isshin's desk and he answered. "Hello, this is the New York Police Department, how can I help you?"

An elderly woman responded, "I need to speak to a police officer immediately!"

"Yes, I am chief of the police, is there a problem?" Isshin asked.

"Yes, there is! I just saw it on the news, about this young man who escaped from Japan! I saw his face on the TV and he looks so terribly familiar!"

"Can you tell me why?" Isshin asked.

"I…I can't remember…"

"Do your best. Did you see him on the street? Was he with someone?"

She gasped and said, "Yes, _yes_ he _was _with someone! He was with my neighbor! I saw them together just the other day!"

"And who is this neighbor and how can we get in touch with him?" Isshin asked. "His name is Ulquiorra Cifer." she replied.

Isshin hung up after thanking her and assuring her that everything would be alright. He said, "She must be crazy. Cifer is a prosecutor; he's put so many nasty guys behind bars and completely put down the idiot lawyers trying to keep them out of prison. I can't believe this guy would be affiliated with someone like Jaegerjaquez!"

Ichigo said, "Dad, all that matters is that Jaegerjaquez was seen with someone and that we know his whereabouts!"

"I can't imagine how Cifer is tied up in all of this." Isshin said, scratching his head. "It doesn't matter. He was seen in the presence of a criminal. Bring Cifer in for questioning and arrest Jaegerjaquez. Ichigo, you're in charge of Jaegerjaquez's arrest. I'll send some guys down to grab Cifer."

Isshin stood up and mumbled, "The day I thought I'd_ ever_ hear that a_ prosecutor_ was working _alongside_ a criminal—!"

* * *

Ulquiorra left the courtroom and made a beeline for his office. This ongoing trial was proving to be difficult and a recess had been called. He had a few minutes to go over his notes. He rarely got angry but the defense attorney's constant questioning of the facts he presented was beginning to get incredibly annoying.

Ulquiorra opened the door to his office and froze when he found two police officers sitting at his desk. What were the police doing in his office? The stares they were giving him were also making him very uncomfortable. They looked at him as if he were not to be trusted. Confused, he asked, "Is there a problem?"

One of the officers, a female, responded, "Yes, there is Mr. Cifer. We need you to come down to the station with us to talk about why you were seen housing a wanted criminal."

"What are you talking about?" He asked, completely bewildered. They had to have the wrong man. _They must be confused. The only person I've housed is-, _And his heart skipped a beat, his breath caught in his throat the realization hit him. _No, that couldn't be. This has to be a mistake, it must be a mistake. There is no way that Grimmjow is-_But then again, he knew little to nothing about Grimmjow's history. It was fairly possible that Grimmjow was a criminal. But Ulquiorra just couldn't wrap his head around it! Before he could start thinking too irrationally, he thought,_ Calm down. There's no need for alarm, I need to wait and let them explain._

"Follow me, Mr. Cifer." Said one of the cops and Ulquiorra hesitantly followed them out of his office, bracing himself for the stares he was about to receive.

No amount of preparing would have done a thing. He could feel the eyes of every single man and women on him, people stepped out of their offices to get a better look at him. Ulquiorra avoided their gazes and kept his eyes firmly planted ahead of him, though he really wanted to sink into the floor. He felt so embarrassed.

He was escorted into the back of the police car and Ulquiorra leaned back and stared up at the ceiling with wide eyes, his lips, set in a thin, nervous line, parting to breath out a shallow sigh. He felt so confused and embarrassed and… And for that, he blamed Grimmjow. And in spite of the confusion and his anxiety, he felt anger beginning to burn inside him, causing his jaw to clench as feelings of confusion and fear began to eat away at him.

_Did I do the right thing by helping him?  
_

* * *

Ulquiorra sat in a cold metal chair, watching the police officers pass back and forth outside the window. The wait had been long and he was beginning to grow increasingly more worried about his situation. _They can't honestly believe I'm affiliated with him. They can't. Even if they think I am, they can't accuse me of anything. I've no criminal record. There's not even any evidence to prove I knew he was a—a wanted criminal…No. That can't be true, it can't be. There is something wrong with this. There has to be.  
_

Ulquiorra put his face into his hand with a deep sigh, his fingers began to drum on cool metal of the table. _Calm down, _he told himself, taking in a slow breath and closing his eyes. _By acting as nervous as am I are it only makes it look like I have something to hide. Be calm, be confident…and then kill Grimmjow for getting me into this.  
_

_Grimmjow…_The calm Ulquiorra had been trying to build began to decay. He didn't even want to think that Grimmjow was a criminal. And they hadn't even said what kind of criminal he was! What had he done? _Killed_ someone?_ Raped_ someone? Stolen? _What _had he done?

Ulquiorra put his face in his hand with a shaky sigh. _No, no. He isn't a criminal. This is probably a big misunderstanding. I need to worry about myself._ _I could lose my job because of this. Depending on what he's done-or what they think he has done-I could go to jail for assisting him…Unless they are wrong in their assumption about his...whatever he has done._ He couldn't imagine how today could get any more stressful. All he could do was hope against hope that they were wrong about Grimmjow.

His thoughts were interrupted when a white haired detective entered the room and sat across from him. "Good morning, Mr. Cifer." He greeted politely. Ulquiorra gave a nod, lacing his fingers together and clenching them somewhat tightly. "I'm sorry for dragging you all the way down here. I hope it won't get you into any trouble at work." He said, pulling up a chair across from him. "Me too." Ulquiorra replied dryly, fighting down the impulse to clear his throat and reminding himself he had no need to be worried since he hadn't done anything wrong.

The man said, "I am Detective Ukitake Jushiro of the Japanese police department." He extended a hand and Ulquiorra distractedly shook it, ready to dispense with formalities and get on with it. "Detective, about Grimmjow-I had no _clue_ about his criminal history." Ukitake nodded, his gaze intent on Ulquiorra's. "Yes, that's what we thought. Your situation is still very suspicious however." Ulquiorra quickly said, "I didn't even know he was wanted in Japan for-?" he paused, unsure exactly what to say to fill the blanks.

"For murder." Ukitake said.

Ulquiorra's eyes shot open and he felt a chill race down his spine. Now he felt sick. His fingers clenched together so tightly, it was painful and his mind momentarily forgot what little answers he had been preparing. Ukitake said, "So it seems you really weren't aware. How did you come to house him? Mr. Cifer?"

Ulquiorra couldn't speak, all he could do was think and every thought made him feel sicker and sicker. He couldn't believe how_ stupid_ he had been! He had worked as a prosecutor for so many years and he couldn't see through _Grimmjow_?

_No. Of course I couldn't. Because I was fooled by him; charmed by his words, so blinded by the fact that for the first time in years I'd met someone so out of the ordinary and-, _a thought occurred to him, _he wasn't kicked out of his hotel was he? He was running from the police, wasn't he? Because he—what did he do? Murder another person? Could _I _have been next? I was used by him. Completely, utterly—_

He felt humiliated.

"Mr. Cifer?"

Another truly terrible realization crept up on him, making him feel sick to his stomach. _I had sex with a killer. _He swallowed hard, his stomach clenching. He felt so disgusting, so used, so idiotic. His breathing quickened. He was threatening to hyperventilate. He couldn't recall the last time he had been this upset.

Fortunately for him, he had spent many years practicing self control, so he didn't hyperventilate at all, which he was grateful for. He knew later on when he eventually recovered, he wouldn't forgive himself for having a breakdown.

The worst he did was asked to be let out so he could hurry to the restroom and vomit.

* * *

The streets had grown dark by the time Grimmjow returned from the grocery store, finishing off a protein bar. He had had to get out after a few hours alone. Not having Ulquiorra around to pester made his home very boring to be in. He could see Ulquiorra's apartment now and hurried towards it.

Grimmjow arrived on the stoop and rang the doorbell. No one answered. "Shit." He stood there in silence for a moment, waiting before he rang again. No response. _This is weird as hell. There's no way he isn't back by now._ Finally, Grimmjow grew tired of waiting and reached into his pocket and pulled out a hairpin. He looked both ways and when he saw no one, began to pick the lock. He was alarmed by how easily the door opened. _You'd think this place would have better locks. Whatever, makes it more convenient._ Grimmjow stepped inside and looked around, the place was just as empty as when he'd left. He was actually disappointed. He'd been lookign forward to watching those movies with him. _Now what'll I do?_

The doorbell rang and Grimmjow eagerly headed to the door and pulled it open. Grimmjow opened his mouth to speak but his words died when he saw a man he didn't recognize standing in the doorway. The first thing about him Grimmjow noticed was his shock of orange hair.

The second thing he noticed was his police uniform. Grimmjow felt his breath catch in his throat and every single instinct screamed at him to run. But he didn't, because he knew that would only get him in bigger trouble. But due to both instincts ordering him to do different things, he was frozen in place, his feet itching to run, but his brain telling him to stay in place.

_There is no way in _fuck _I am going to jail, _he thought, his heart racing.

The man said coldly, "Yo. Sorry I wasn't your boyfriend. You're Jaegerjaquez, aren't you?"

Grimmjow knew he should speak; his silence was already so suspicious. He knew there wasn't a chance of him getting out of this scot-free, but he was willing to try anyway if it meant somehow staying away from the police department.

"The hell are you doing here? Where's Cifer?" he asked, stepping around the cop and into the building. "Cifer's downtown." was his answer. Grimmjow stopped walking, his eyes widening when he realized what that implied. _He knows. Ah shit…Poor bastard. _Grimmjow's jaw clenched and anger bubbled inside him. He had been hoping not to get Ulquiorra involved in any of this. He couldn't imagine how the guy was feeling right now. _Those fuckers...what the fuck are they going after him for?_

Grimmjow turned around to face the cop and said, "He ain't my accomplice."

"We know." The orange haired officer replied, facing him. Grimmjow caught a glimpse of his name tag; Ichigo Kurosaki. "I also know that there isn't any point in hiding it, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. You're under arrest for larceny, and the murders of Takao Jun'Ichi and Hana Jun'Ichi. You have the right to remain silent; anything you say will be used against you in court." Kurosaki growled.

_I knew there was no point in trying to act casual. When the fuck will I learn hoping gets me fucking nowhere? _

His fists clenched. The future he had envisioned was slipping even farther away and the disappointment was turning into hot, boiling rage.

"Just try and take me you little _shitstain_." He snarled and without a moment's hesitation, he charged at him! Grimmjow swung a punch at Kurosaki and Kurosaki flung up his arm to block and tried to punch him. Grimmjow smacked his fist aside, feeling the bones in his hand ache from the collision, and slammed an uppercut into his chin.

Ichigo staggered back and was punched in the stomach and the air in his lungs was pushed out, leaving him breathless. Grimmjow was grinning ferociously now and slammed his knee into his stomach.

Ichigo doubled over into the kick and Grimmjow drew back his fist to sock him in the face. Ichigo caught it and punched him across the face. Grimmjow felt the cop's fist graze his ear, making his ear ring and burn painfully and felt Kurosaki's foot collide with his chest, throwing him backwards.

Grimmjow regained his footing in time to dodge the hit from Kurosaki. With a snarl, Grimmjow grabbed the cop's head of orange hair and slammed his head into the wall. Feeling his anger mounting, he drew back his head and smashed it into the wall again, relishing in the loud thud as Ichigo's skull made contact with the wall.

Kurosaki's knees gave out and Grimmjow ended the fight by smashing his knuckles into the side of Ichigo's head, knocking him clean out. Grimmjow was still, letting his breath catch up to him and waiting for the ache in his knuckles to fade.

As much as he hated to admit it, it was time to disappear again.

* * *

_"He killed two people. The murders were gruesome enough that they made the front cover of the Japanese newspapers."_

Ulquiorra wished he hadn't asked as his stomach threatened to turn over unpleasantly. He swallowed and closed his eyes.

_"Both of them were shop owners of a small store he robbed. He was caught and they had just called us about the theft. We arrived at the scene to find them both dead, killed in the most gruesome fashion, left in the open for all to see."_

Ulquiorra's eyes opened as images of the night he spent with Grimmjow threatened to resurface. He wouldn't let them. He slumped over with his face in his hands, a sigh escaping him. _He can't be a killer, he just can't be._

But it made sense in a way. There had always been something about him, an air of danger. He shook his head. He couldn't accept this. _It makes perfect sense though. Of course someone I bother getting attached to turns out to be a murderer. Of course. It's luck reserved only for me. I told myself net to get close, I told myself-no. I can't accept this._

He refused to believe he had let a killer fuck him. He just wouldn't let himself admit something so disgusting. And because of that, he refused to believe Grimmjow was a killer. _I want to go home. _He thought suddenly, his hands starting to fidget.

He didn't want to stay in this depressing little bedroom at the police station. He wanted to be at home but of course, that was where Grimmjow was and the last thing the police wanted was for him to be alone at home with Grimmjow.

Ulquiorra began to pace the room. _He_ did_ have a temper, _he reminded himself. _He hated it when he noticed that I wasn't thinking highly of him. _Ulquiorra's feet halted their movements and he found that any arguments trying to prove Grimmjow's innocence was slipping. _It's because I'm stressed. I can't think properly. Once I'm outside, or more preferably, at home, I'll—_

_He also isn't from here. He told me this morning at breakfast that he left "home" in a hurry. He left so quickly, he didn't even have enough time to ensure he had enough money to stay in a hotel and care for himself while he was here. _Ulquiorra's breathing had stopped and he was feeling sicker and more full of dread with each passing second that these thoughts blew through his head, blowing away any and all of his confidence about Grimmjow's innocence.

_I thought he was my friend. How could I have been so foolish?_

"Mr. Cifer?" and he turned and saw a police officer standing in the doorway. "We just got a call from the officers in your area. They searched your home thoroughly and found no one there. One of our officers said he engage in combat with him, but that Jaegerjaquez escaped. He is no longer in your home and—,"

"I can go home, then?" Ulquiorra asked.

"We don't think that is advisable. But this Jaegerjaquez is a clever man, he wouldn't return to the same area that he just escaped from. So if you'd like we can keep the police outside your home if you feel it is necessary."

"No. If he really is gone, he has no intention of coming back." Ulquiorra firmly believed what he said. From the way Grimmjow spoke to him this morning, he wouldn't dare risk anything else to the future he desired so much by staying in his neighborhood. By now, the man was long gone and he should have felt the sting behind his eyes when the thought crossed his mind. Hadn't he told himself from the start that it was best he was alone? Well, now he got his wish. And he felt absolutely miserable.

"I want to go home, if you'll let me." Ulquiorra said as politely as he could though it sounded much more like a demand due to the stress he was in, and the officer thought about it. "I respect your request for less police, but we can't risk another murder. He may think_ you've_ reported him to the police, betrayed him. We'll keep the cops on stand-by and you can return home."

Ulquiorra said, "Very well." He had been hoping to see the last of them for a while but he could see there was no way around it. And the cop stood aside and let him pass through the doorway. The officer lifted his communicator and said, "Kurosaki, let the guys know to stay on stand-by until morning."

* * *

By the time Ulquiorra left the police station, it was dark outside. And even then, he couldn't get away from them. They had stationed themselves around his house. Apparently a cop had come by while he was at the station and caught Jaegerjaquez entering his apartment, tried to arrest him and this had started a brawl.

The cop woke up and found Jaegerjaquez missing. So until Jaegerjaquez was found, they were stationed outside for his protection. Ulquiorra personally wished they'd leave, that they'd do anything to make him forget all that he'd seen and heard.

He couldn't believe Grimmjow was a murderer. He just couldn't.

He hadn't thought it would be possible for the same person to make him feel like an absolute fool twice and only within the span of three days. But Grimmjow had, and Ulquiorra would never forgive him for it. He felt filthy and absolutely ashamed for feeling so attracted to him, for being blinded by his charms, his good looks. But most of all, for actually being stupid enough to think that he had finally found someone he could call a friend.

How could he have missed it? Grimmjow had played every card in the book. He had manipulated him, lied to him and used him. And Ulquiorra had fallen for it like a complete jackass. Lying down was painful, he felt far too upset to keep still, but too drained to move. It was a horrible feeling. His stomach felt queasy and he wondered if he would throw up again. He removed his arm from his eyes and stared up at the ceiling and quickly shut them as another wave of shame hit him.

_What have I done? Why did I do this? How could I do this? _

He never should have gone home with him in the first place. He could not _believe_ he had ever done something so _stupid_! His stomach churned unpleasantly and he groaned and heaved himself to his feet and made his way through the dark to his door. There was only one answer to his misery, he thought as he made his way to the toilet, and that was to deny that Grimmjow was a murderer with all of his might.

He stumbled into the bathroom and was instantly sick into the toilet for the second time that day. When the wave of nausea had passed he continued to lie slumped against the toilet, lacking any will to move. He felt so utterly humiliated and stupid.

Finally, the taste began to get to him and he stood to his feet and flushed before rinsing his mouth from the sink. He didn't swallow it though, not trusting his stomach to hold down much of anything right now. He stumbled downstairs to the living room, walked to the couch and collapsed on it, curling himself into a ball. He couldn't recall feeling this sick in ages. The only time he had been this sick was when he was little and caught the stomach bug at school. If he could remember correctly, it had been in December, a few days after his birthday. He had woken up with a horrible ache in his gut and feeling of fear as to why it was there.

He had stumbled out of bed and down the hall to his parents' room for some solace to find that his father was in bed watching TV without his mother.

"_Daddy, I don't feel good." He whimpered._

_His father didn't look at him; he kept his eyes on the television._

"_Daddy?" he repeated, walking towards him and attempting to climb into bed with him. _

"_Get dressed." His father stated. "Your mother is at work. I am to take you to school today."_

"_But Daddy, I don't feel good." He said, tears in his eyes. His father still didn't look at him. Ulquiorra reached out a small hand and tugged on his father's pant leg. Why wouldn't his father ever look at him like his mother did? He wanted his father to hold him and tell him everything was fine. But his father didn't even spare him a glance when he replied, "Do you have a fever?"_

"_No, but—,"_

"_Are you sneezing or coughing?"_

"_No—,"_

"_Then you can go to school." His father said, giving him a firm look that told him he was not to argue with him._

Ulquiorra could remember wondering if all parents looked at their kids that way. He could also remember thinking, _why does dad hate me?_

In any case, he'd gone to school like his father wanted and foolishly eaten his breakfast like his father wanted. He ended up being sick in front of the class and alienated by all the other kids, as well as laughed at. His teacher had sent him to the nurses' office and called his mother. The nurse was also kind enough to visit with him during recess to keep him company while he cried.

Looking back now, he found himself scoffing at what a wreck he had been as a kid. He had been so emotional. His father had left work early to come and pick him up and when Ulquiorra ran to him for comfort, he was as unresponsive as ever. On the drive home, his father had lectured him.

"_You embarrassed me. Hysterical crying was fine when you were a toddler. You're six years old now. I would like you to start behaving like it, am I clear?"_

He had spent the day in his room, curled up under his blankets with a queasy stomach and tears in his eyes. He could remember wondering if he'd ever get better and feeling that today was the worst day of his life. Until his mother came home, that was.

She had come into his room and called his name softly and at the sound of her voice, it was like the sun had come out, breaking through the clouds of despair his mood had created. He had scrambled from bed and run to her and she had embraced him tightly, rubbing his back and kissing his forehead and comforting him when he told her about his terrible day at school.

"_It was terrible, mommy! Everyone laughed at me!" He had sobbed, hugging her tighter._

"_I'm so sorry, Ulqui. But I am very proud of you for still going anyway. That was very brave of you to do. I wish I could have picked you up. But mommy was at work." She had said with pity in her voice._

"_I don't like your work," he had said, pouting._

Ulquiorra wanted to cringe at the memory of him saying that. It had been a very childlike thing for him to say, but also very selfish. She had worked hard to support him and her family and he had dismissed it in such a selfish way.

"_I'm sorry you feel that way. I am off work tomorrow, Ulqui-baby. I'll be able to take you to school then, okay?" She had said, giving him a radiant smile._

_And just like that, his entire mood had lifted. "R-really?" he had asked with so much hope in his voice._

"_Yes!" she had responded, sincerity in her face. And it like nothing bad had ever happened to him today and he was hugging her tightly and laughing. "Yay!" she had smiled and hugged him back, too. "Hey, didn't you tell me you'd written another story? Can you show mommy, please?"_

_He instantly shook his head, his expression very serious. "No way! It isn't done yet!" _

She had giggled and he could remember feeling confused by why she was laughing. Now he realized it was because he had been behaving so seriously about it.

"_Promise me you'll show me as _soon _as it is done?"_

"_Mmm hmm!"_

She had then hugged him tightly, giggling into his shoulder. He could still remember her laugh, how light it was, how free and happy it sounded.

He wrapped his arms tightly around himself as the comforting memories came rushing back. Nostalgia swept over him and suddenly, he felt weakened and vulnerable. What he wouldn't give to be a child again in this moment. If only so he could be wrapped tightly in his mother's arms. His childhood hadn't been easy, he had worried a lot. But when he was with his mother, he had felt like nothing else mattered but her and her comforting perfume, her warmth and her smile.

He wanted that feeling again. He didn't want to be alone in this house that was too big for him; he didn't want to be making the horrible mistakes adults made or stuck in a job where people were too intimidated by him to approach him and he was too skittish of them to do the same. He wanted the simplistic feeling his mother gave him again.

A knock on the door roused him from his thoughts and his eyes opened. He lifted his head and stared at the door, wondering if perhaps he had misheard. But the knock sounded again. With a sigh, he rubbed at his eyes and heaved himself to his feet and walked to the door, looking through the peephole to see who it was. There was a man standing outside. His appearance was unsettling. He wore a hood and sunglasses, making most of his face unseen.

"Who are you?" he asked through the door. He wasn't about to open his door to this man. The man avoided the question all together. "Does Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez live here?" He didn't speak normally; he had a kind of sing-song, excitement to his voice that instantly rang alarm bells in Ulquiorra's head. From his accent, Ulquiorra could tell he was Asian.

Ulquiorra wasn't sure he should even respond to that question. Why was that his business? He decided to lie. But before he could open his mouth, the man replied, "Oh, what a silly question. Of course he does. I am going to ask nicely only once for you to open the door, Cifer-san, and then I am going to have my friend break it down."

Ulquiorra's mouth had gone dry, his heart and mind were racing and he had no idea what to say or do. _How does he know my name? He's crazy, he has to be. Where are the cops? I thought they were stationed outside my door? Did he kill them? Is he armed? What do I—?_

"No response, ne? Nante zannen nanda." and Ulquiorra barely had time to back away from the door before it burst open with a loud _bang_! He was slammed against the wall by the door, the breath was knocked from him and he didn't have time to recover before a large hand was around his neck and he was lifted off the ground.

His attacker was a massive man, seemingly all muscle and he was grinning like a psychopath; just the sight was enough to nearly paralyze him with fear. And suddenly he was being thrown away from the brute and into the floor with a loud grunt, his vision turning white as his head struck the ground. He was dazed and terrified and he was attempting to scramble backwards when he was kicked in the stomach hard enough to crack a rib.

Ulquiorra curled up into a ball on the floor, shaking. He opened his eyes long enough to see the man about to kick him again. He heard the other man say with disinterest, "Yameru." And the second kick didn't come. The man in the sunglasses begun to walk towards him and Ulquiorra attempted to get his feet until the man drew a gun and pointed it into his face.

Ulquiorra felt his blood run cold and the man gestured to the ground with the weapon. "On your knees." He ordered. And Ulquiorra was on his knees before the armed stranger. "I'm only going to ask one more time, Cifer-san. Where is Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez?"

"I—I don't know where he is," Ulquiorra began shakily and the man yelled, "Don't you bullshit me! We know he lives here, you dumb fuck! Tell me where he is, now!"

Ulquiorra kept his tone as calm as he could trying his hardest to do anything that would kept this man's temper in control. "I don't know where he is. He went for a walk, he'll be back soon."

_Where is he? Did he leave me here? Did he know that these men were coming? Am I alone here? What do I do?_

"That isn't good enough, Cifer. Are you hiding something from me? Do you think you're smart by lying to me?"

Ulquiorra's heart sank and he said, "No, I'm not lying. I don't know where he went, but I am certain, he'll be back soon."

_Please be back soon, please be back soon._

And his chin was gripped in a strong hand as the man knelt down to his level. "Hey, look at me," Ulquiorra forced his erratic gaze back on the psychopath in front of him, feeling his breathing quicken when his eyes made contact with his face. The man simply stared at him, drinking in Ulquiorra's attention. "Do I look stupid to you?" Ulquiorra responded, tripping over his words, "No—you—no, you don't."

"Then why would you lie to me?"

Ulquiorra felt his desperation mounting and he said as firmly as he could, "I am not lying to you."

"But you are," the man insisted, a sick smile lighting up his face. And he lifted the gun and placed it against Ulquiorra's cheek. Ulquiorra's breathing quickened and he looked from his attacker to the gun with wide, terrified eyes. He could feel the old metal against his cheek.

_I am going to die._

"I don't like it when people lie to me, Cifer-san." He repeated in a calm voice, his smile widening. "I am going to ask one more time and if you can't satisfy me, I will blow your brains all over these walls. Where—is—Jaegerjaquez?"

Would lying save him? Would his lie be too obvious? Was this man just looking to kill him regardless of the answer he gave? In his thoughts, his gaze strayed. A hand fisted in the back of his hair, wrenching his head up, making sure he kept his eyes on his would-be killer at all times.

The man's shades had slipped down while he spoke. His steel gray eyes were empty, devoid of any emotion. Killing Ulquiorra would be easier than batting an eye to him.

"He's—," Ulquiorra began, despair setting in.

"He's here, you pieces of _shit_." growled a deep, familiar voice, thick with anger.

And Ulquiorra was dropped in an instant as his attacker pointed his gun at Grimmjow. He didn't even have time to pull the trigger before Grimmjow whipped a pistol from his back pocket and shot him in the head, turned the gun on the second man in the room and shot him through the chest. The man hadn't even had time to draw his weapon.

Their bodies fell simultaneously and hit the floor with loud thuds, their guns clattering from their hands. Grimmjow slid his pistol back into his back pocket. His expression hadn't changed in the slightest; he looked completely unfazed except for the anger in his eyes.

Ulquiorra didn't know whether to be relieved to see him or if he should be intimidated.

Grimmjow strode right by him and slammed his foot into the corpse's stomach, sending it crashing into the wall. He spat on the floor. "Dumb fucks." He growled venom in his voice. "Should have known they'd find me here." He mumbled.

Ulquiorra began inching backwards, unsure if he should pick up the gun closest to him. The thought had barely finished crossing his mind when Grimmjow turned around and said, "You alright?" Ulquiorra was caught off guard by his genuine concern. He couldn't speak so instead he shrugged, leaning against the wall and waiting for his heart rate to slow down.

Grimmjow gave a nod and said, "So…the police found me, huh? I can only imagine how they did that." Ulquiorra's brow furrowed. Was Grimmjow seriously—? Grimmjow chuckled humorlessly, his eyes just as devoid of humor. "So, did you rat me out? Have you known who I was this whole time, Cifer? Huh?"

Ulquiorra could not believe the cheek of this son of a bitch. He had the _nerve _to accuse Ulquiorra of snitching on him when Ulquiorra himself had been _dragged_ from his workplace and interrogated by the police, gone through severe emotional _trauma_ all day and then nearly _killed_ because of him? _You piece of—,_

Grimmjow barked, "Answer me!" and Ulquiorra felt something inside him snap. He flung himself to his feet and slammed him up against the wall, his hand wrapping tightly around his neck. "No, I will not answer you, you piece of trash," he hissed, "You have the nerve you accuse me of helping the police when I was _dragged_ from my office this morning, interrogated and held there for_ hours_? You have the _audacity _to suspect _me_ when I have been told the things I have about you and to interrogate me after I was nearly_ killed_ by people looking for _you_?! So no, I will _not_ answer you, Jaegerjaquez."

"Hey! What else was I supposed to think, alright?! You leave and only two hours later, a cop turns up!" Grimmjow snapped. "And whose fault is it that the cop turned up? It isn't mine and do you know why? Because I'm not the one wanted for _murder_." Ulquiorra snapped.

Grimmjow snarled, "I _didn't_ kill those people!"

And the retort Ulquiorra had been preparing died in his throat. He sounded so angry, like people had been telling him that for ages. If there was anything he knew about Grimmjow, it was that he wasn't a liar—or that was what he thought.

"If you'd told me that before you manipulated me into housing you, then maybe I'd have—,"

"I didn't manipulate you, you bastard! I tried but you didn't take it. You let me in of your own accord! And so maybe I did lie about why I left the hotel, but how would this have sounded; "Oh hey, Ulquiorra, I had to flee my hotel because not only did the cops find me but so did these assholes!" Grimmjow said, gesturing to the bodies on the floor.

"What you _should_ have done was never arrive on my doorstep in the first place." Ulquiorra ground out. "Now, get out of my apartment." Grimmjow argued, "What are you, stupid? Those punks know where you live now. You _need_ me."

"I don't need anything from a murderer. Now, _get out_."

"I'm _not_ a murderer." Grimmjow growled with such anger in his voice, Ulquiorra was taken aback. Ulquiorra said, "I don't care what you are or what you aren't. Get out of my house, you piece of trash."

"Take back what you said first." Grimmjow ordered.

"If I need to repeat myself one more time, I will drag your _unconscious body_ out my door. _Get out_." Ulquiorra demanded, his voice rising.

And before he could react, Grimmjow flipped their positions and slammed Ulquiorra up against the wall. "If you don't fucking hear me out, Cifer, then I really will be a murderer!" he snarled. And for the first time since he'd known him, he saw fear enter Ulquiorra's eyes.

Grimmjow seemed to calm a little and heaved a deep breath and said, "Don't look so pathetic. I wouldn't have stayed in this police-ridden shithole if I wanted to kill you. Look, even I have my standards. I knew that if the police knew where you lived, they had to have talked to you and I wasn't about to leave while you moped around about how a wanted killer fucked you. Now, I've got something to say and I'm not leaving 'till I say it. Whether you believe it or not is up to you; I'm grateful for everything you've done for me."

Ulquiorra hadn't been expecting that at all and he was taken by surprise.

Grimmjow continued, "Not everyone else would have done what you did, or put up with my bullshit like you did. I'd also say that I didn't kill those people, but I doubt you'd believe me." Grimmjow added bitterly, releasing him. Ulquiorra was quiet, his thoughts were a mess.

He didn't know what to think. He had been told that this man was a killer and a thief, he had nearly been murdered by men claiming to be looking for him, and he had absolutely no reason to trust this man. But somewhere inside of him, was something that told him he could trust Grimmjow. Logically, he shouldn't trust him at all; everything the police had told him still resounded in his mind, the fact that he knew nothing about Grimmjow and therefore, had no evidence himself to prove the police otherwise, should have been enough of an inclination that he shouldn't trust him.

But, despite everything, there was a voice that resounded louder than all the others. And that voice, the voice that knew just enough about Grimmjow to know that he wasn't a liar and that something was very, very off with him being accused of murder, told him that he could trust Grimmjow. He wasn't sure what to think. But if Grimmjow had something to say that could change his take on the police's story, he was more than willing to listen.

And he said, "You say you didn't kill those people? Is it true?"

Grimmjow said, "First, I wanna know if it be worth my time telling you."

Ulquiorra said, "I've been fed the story by the police. If you have a different take on it, I would be interested in hearing it, provided it isn't lies just so I'll take pity on you and let you stay."

Grimmjow rolled his eyes. "The last thing I ever want from you, Cifer, is pity. And at this point, letting me stay wouldn't do shit. It's over for me from here. The cops know I'm here, Gilga's men know I'm here. I thought I could handle his men before. But I'm not stupid. I'd be dead to go up against them and the cops. Christ…It's over; it's all over, everything." He mumbled, an expression of bitterness on his face that Ulquiorra hadn't thought he'd ever see there, Grimmjow looked like he was losing a fight he had been battling for ages. It was a strange thing to see such a look of defeat on his face. He was all too used to the confident, scowling Grimmjow. But now he was beginning to realize that Grimmjow was hardly who he thought he was.

And suddenly, they heard the sound of running footsteps. "Shit, the cops." Grimmjow hissed and he raced to the door and slammed it shut. He turned to Ulquiorra, ready to bark some orders at him but before he could say anything, there were distant gunshots and two thuds outside. Grimmjow and Ulquiorra both jumped and Grimmjow moved towards the window. Ulquiorra pushed him back, muttering to Grimmjow about how he didn't want anyone catching a glimpse of him, and checked between the blinds. Two police officers lay on the ground outside, blood beginning to pool beneath their heads. "What…? Who could have done that?" Ulquiorra whispered his eyes wide.

"What's happened?" Grimmjow asked from behind him. "The officers outside are dead." Ulquiorra responded with confusion and tension in his voice. Grimmjow tensed. "Shit." He whispered and Ulquiorra saw a strange look cross his face, an expression that was strange on him. He looked…very, very nervous. Ulquiorra in turn felt nervous as well. Did Grimmjow know the people outside? "Grimmjow?" he questioned. "Who's outside? Are there more of those men?"

Just then, a few more police officers appeared outside in the streets, their guns out as they begun to search the area. Grimmjow approached the window and peered out with Ulquiorra, watching as the cops vanished into the dark.

"We need to go. Now." Grimmjow said, and before Ulquiorra could agree, there were more shots fired outside. "Get your ass in gear." Grimmjow hissed, grabbing Ulquiorra's wrist and pulled him towards the door. "Where's the nearest subway?" he asked. Ulquiorra responded, "Nine blocks from here. Grimmjow, what is—?"

Grimmjow snapped, "The only question you should be asking me is do I want to live, or do I want to die? Now, stay close and do not make a sound."

Ulquiorra was absolutely bewildered and was growing more and more frightened by the second. More shots were fired outside; more exclamations of pain and alarm from the officers were heard. And Ulquiorra knew he had no choice but to put his faith in a man wanted for murder. He said, "Lead the way."

"Back door anywhere at all?" Grimmjow asked, striding into the living room. Ulquiorra said, "No. There's a window in the kitchen." Ulquiorra jumped as the front door was slammed into and Grimmjow cursed. Ulquiorra turned towards the door, his eyes fixed on it.

_Who are they? _He thought, his heart jumping as the door was slammed into again.

Grimmjow darted to the window and heaved it open. Ulquiorra hurried to him and Grimmjow began to climb out. He landed in the yard and looked around, no one in sight but he knew that they could be anywhere. They hadn't seen him yet, otherwise a bullet would have already been in his head.

"Get out here." Grimmjow ordered and Ulquiorra was already beside him. Grimmjow hurried to the fence and began to climb it but Ulquiorra paused in front of it. Grimmjow said impatiently, "Come on!" And before Ulquiorra had time to make his decision, Grimmjow grabbed the back of Ulquiorra's suit and began to pull him towards the fence. Ulquiorra grabbed hold of the fence and began attempting to climb it. It was a lot harder than it looked.

Ulquiorra reached the top and began attempting to heave himself over. And he heard a yell behind him, "Hey, I found them! They're making a break for it!" and the gunshot was enough to get Ulquiorra to throw himself over the fence and fall face down on the ground in his attempt to flee. Grimmjow heaved him up and Ulquiorra ran fast, faster than he ever thought he could. They ran at least a block until Grimmjow spotted something.

"Hey!" Grimmjow yelled and up ahead, a man, getting into his car, paused and turned towards them. Grimmjow yelled, "This way!" and Ulquiorra followed him without a moment's hesitation. Grimmjow seized the man attempting to get into his car and pulled him away from it. "Get in." Grimmjow ordered and Ulquiorra, momentarily shocked by what they were doing, quickly recovered when he remembered their pursuers.

"We're borrowing it." Ulquiorra said, climbing into the front seat. "Back seat." Grimmjow corrected and Ulquiorra obeyed, buckling himself in. Grimmjow jumped in and slammed the door, sticking the keys into the engine. Ulquiorra didn't question how he got them; all he wanted was to get out of this area of the city.

The engine started and Grimmjow drove away, gathering speed as he went. And behind them, three large, black cars swerved out from around the corner and they were moving fast in their direction. Ulquiorra said, "Grimmjow—,"

"Fuck!" Grimmjow snapped and he made a very quick left turn.

Behind them, two of the cars split off into different directions. The remaining car followed them around the corner. "Shoot the tires." The driver ordered and the man sitting beside him leaned out the window.

Grimmjow checked the mirror and snarled at the sight of the gunman and drove into a different lane as the man started firing at their car. "Get down." Grimmjow called and Ulquiorra instantly did so as bullets pierced the back window. Grimmjow shoved his gun out the window and fired at the car behind them. They fired back at him and a bullet bounced against Grimmjow's gun, knocking it from his hand. "Shit!" He exclaimed.

Ahead of them, the two cars barreled out around the corner and at the speed Grimmjow was going at, he could guarantee the collision would kill them both. Grimmjow steered right off the road and drove on the side walk, smashing through two lampposts.

One of the two cars nearly crashed right into the car pursuing them and the driver cursed and steered off the road and into a building. The two other cars screeched to a halt and quickly resumed the chase.

Grimmjow made a violent turn right, his car driving up onto the sidewalk and hurling a garbage can halfway across the street before he stamped on the gas and hurtled away down the street. And that was when the saw them, black cars forming a barricade up ahead of him. Grimmjow swore and turned the car around to find more black cars pulling into the street behind him.

They were well and truly surrounded.

Grimmjow didn't stop the car though, he kept driving forward, putting on more and more speed and Ulquiorra realized what he was going to do and his nails dug into the seat and he closed his eyes tightly, waiting for the impact.

The men standing outside the cars began yelling warnings and scattering to the sides while the brave few remained in place and started shooting at his car.

Grimmjow's car collided into the line, plowing through them, knocking the cars aside and into one another, ramming into their owners. Grimmjow's windshield shattered, sending shards flying into the car and Grimmjow flung up an arm to shield his face as he turned into another street and when he looked up, he was driving straight towards a wall.

"Holy—!"

His car smashed into the wall, sending him jerking forward into his seat-belt painfully. He recovered, his breath catching up to him and chuckling when he looked around to find no cars following him. To his luck, he found that they were right outside the subway. He turned his head to look at Ulquiorra and saw that he was frozen in his seat, his nails digging into the seat and his eyes wide open.

"You good?" Grimmjow asked.

Ulquiorra opened his mouth and only let out a small wheeze of a reply. "Fine."

"Then get out. This thing's busted." Grimmjow said quickly unbuckling himself and hurrying out of the car and towards the subway. He turned to find Ulquiorra still seemed frozen and Grimmjow scowled and opened the backdoor and unbuckled his seat-belt. "Get a move on, Princess." He said none too politely.

Ulquiorra blinked himself out of his daze and hastily unbuckled and stepped outside and followed him into the subway with the shakiest feet he'd ever walked on.

* * *

Ichigo Kurosaki arrived at Ulquiorra's apartment with a squad of men to find dead officers scattered about the area and Ulquiorra's front door kicked in. "Shit. Cifer, are you here?!" Ichigo called, staring into the dark apartment.

He joined the squad in searching the building but they found both no one and nothing except the corpses on the floor. Cifer was gone and Ichigo didn't even want to imagine what Jaegerjaquez could be doing to him right now.

"Shit! How could we let this happen? How could we let Jaegerjaquez escape _twice_?" Ichigo exclaimed angrily. "Hey, look, it happens," one of the men said reassuringly. "This doesn't just _happen_," Ichigo argued, "This is incompetent! And it's my fault. How can I call myself an officer of the law if I get my ass kicked by a criminal and let him escape with a civilian? It's absolutely unacceptable!" He kicked the sofa, running a hand across his face agitatedly.

"Look if it helps, Kurosaki, we don't know that Cifer was innocent. How could someone like him_ not_ know about Jaegerjaquez? It's all over the TV!"

"Yeah, as of yesterday." Another cop commented but Ichigo said, "And we don't know that he is guilty either."

"Cifer's gone. I let that sick bastard get to him. How many more people are next because of me?" He whispered, hanging his head in shame. "Dammit! How could I? We never should have—," just then, a man ran up to the house. "Excuse me! Officers!" Ichigo turned, "What?" he asked, hurrying to him.

"My car was just stolen!"

"We're investigating a kidnap, not a car robbery." One of the cops replied but Ichigo instantly said, "Hey _wait_ a second, this can't just be a coincidence! What did the guy look like?"

"There were two of them! They came racing down the street like a couple of lunatics! A blue haired guy knocked me down, stole my keys and jumped into the car with another guy!"

Ichigo's eyes widened. Cifer was alive? But he had to be certain. "What did the other man look like? Black hair, Caucasian, green eyes?" Ichigo asked, he had seen Cifer when he was brought home so he had a basic memory of what he looked like.

"Yeah, I think so! Didn't really get a good look at him."

"Did you see where they were headed?" Ichigo asked.

"East! Get my car back. I'll show you where it was stolen!" The man said, and he hurried away. Ichigo headed outside and moved quickly down the street after him. The man led him to the parking spot and Ichigo noticed the tire tracks on the floor that showed when Grimmjow had turned violently to get out of the parking space.

He had truly been in a hurry.

Ichigo looked off into the distance. He could imagine where Grimmjow was going, there was a subway very close by and that was the first place he wanted to look. He pulled out his communicator and said, "Guys, head to the subway at 15th and 5th. We might still catch him." And he slipped it back into his belt and stared off into the slowly brightening streets of New York.

_I swear, Jaegerjaquez, no matter what it takes or how long, I _will _find you. You better watch it you bastard._

_Because I will run you ragged. _


	5. On the run

Chapter 5

Grimmjow and Ulquiorra hurried into the subway. It was empty, the only person around that Ulquiorra could see was a homeless man asleep in the seats a few feet past the turnstiles. Grimmjow looked left and saw that there was a security guard sitting in a chair behind the desk, reading a newspaper. Grimmjow grabbed Ulquiorra's arm and pulled him towards the turnstiles. "Jump 'em." He whispered.

Ulquiorra looked over his shoulder to quickly check and see if the security guard was looking. He wasn't, he was still reading his paper. Ulquiorra ducked under while Grimmjow heaved himself over. "You're getting' the hang of breaking the law already." Grimmjow said, slapping his back.

Ulquiorra glared at him momentarily. "Be quiet." He ordered. "The instant we're on the train, I want an explanation."

"We'll see." Grimmjow replied, not liking that Ulquiorra was telling him what to do. Grimmjow stopped walking, looking at the two staircases ahead of them leading to different platforms. "I am going to assume we have a destination in mind other than running blindly." Ulquiorra said expectantly, beginning to grow weary when it seemed Grimmjow didn't know what to do.

"Yeah. We need weapons. I know where to get 'em." Grimmjow said, taking the platform on the left Ulquiorra-wondering if Grimmjow expected _him_ to wield a gun- hurried after him and descended the stairs down onto the empty subway platform.

His mind was reeling; questions were racing through his head along with many concerns and doubts. He didn't want to think about them right now. His head slumped downward a few inches and his hand combed through his hair as he breathed a silent sigh, momentarily allowing some of his stress to show in his body stance. Grimmjow glanced over and his brow furrowed a little. Though Ulquiorra's face was empty, his large green eyes were practically windows to his thoughts. His brow was puckered, his bright pupils flicking back and forth, his blinking pattern was irregular. He was very obviously distressed by all that was happening. _Huh...so he can feel..._he thought, finding himself staring into those eyes a little longer. He couldn't help but feel a tightening in his chest and he frowned a little as he realized he was feeling guilty. He may not be on the best terms with Ulquiorra, but he had never wanted this for him. He said gruffly, "Don't think too much. You need your head clear. Or it might just blow up from all that thinking." He added dryly.

Ulquiorra slid his twitchy hands into his pockets and took in a breath, slipping his eyes closed. They would be standing here for hours. The subway wasn't open yet. He decided to at least make himself comfortable on the benches behind them, not wanting to rock too much on his feet due to the agitation he was feeling.

He seated himself and looked around. He didn't think he'd ever seen the subway this empty before. It was completely silent. It was very unusual. He turned his attention from the lifeless platforms to the man ahead of him; the man, who he was beginning to realize, was much more of a stranger to him than he ever thought he was.

His eyes lingered on his back for a moment. He seemed perfectly calm.

_He's been in this situation before. Why? What has he done to have these men after him? Who he is? For all I know, Grimmjow might not even be his real name._

Grimmjow's head suddenly turned sharply to the right and Ulquiorra tensed and looked over as well. He could hear voices, loud voices, coming from far away. Grimmjow scowled and approached the stairs cautiously. Ulquiorra stood.

"Shit…they're here." Grimmjow hissed.

"Who?" Ulquiorra instantly asked.

"Police. Should of figured they'd catch up." Grimmjow said impatiently, looking around and Ulquiorra could see him trying to form an idea of what course of action to take next.

Without warning, Grimmjow leaped right off the platform and landed on the tracks. Ulquiorra moved towards the platform's edge with wider eyes than normal. "What are you—?" he began. _Does he even know how dangerous that is? One wrong step—,_

"What the hell are _you _doing? Get _down_ here, dammit!" Grimmjow snapped, beckoning excitedly. Ulquiorra looked towards the staircase as the footsteps of the police officers grew closer and closer. He was running from the law and he had no idea how this would look. And he really loathed Grimmjow for it.

_So why not turn back, _a voice in his head questioned. Ulquiorra's feet were itching to move but he couldn't decide which direction to take. _Why am I hesitating? It is obvious who I should go to. And yet…I'm hesitating. Why?_

Grimmjow growled, "Ulquiorra…you go back there, the police will either think you're a hostage or they'll think you're a suspect. And even if things work out for you, those men know where you live. They'll be back. They'll find you, torture you for my whereabouts and they'll kill you. Now you get down here and come with me, or I leave you here. Make up your damned mind and do it fast."

He didn't have time to weight the options. He knew which course of action to take. He also knew that going with Grimmjow meant that with each step he took, he was taken farther and farther from home. He had no more control over what happened in his own life now.

He clenched his jaw and heaved himself onto the tracks. Grimmjow grabbed his wrist and said, "Move it." And pulled him into the darkness of the tunnel just as the police officers appeared on the platform with Ichigo in the lead. Grimmjow and Ulquiorra moved quietly but quickly down the tunnel, staying close to the wall and using Grimmjow's phone for a flashlight. It wasn't much good however; it was far too dark to see much of anything ahead of them.

The air stunk and the walls were filthy. They clearly hadn't been the only ones to take this route on foot. Either construction workers in their spare time or teenagers foolish enough to venture off the platform had sprawled graffiti on the wall.

Ulquiorra looked over his shoulder and saw no one following them. Perhaps they were being followed. He couldn't tell. It was too dark. Some light fell onto the tunnel floor ahead of them and as they passed under it, Ulquiorra got a glimpse of the street above them through the grate; the light was probably from a streetlamp.

He felt something scuttle across his foot and jumped a little, looking down in time to spot a large rat race off into the darkness. He closed his eyes, taking in a silent breath to calm himself down. He wasn't in control of anything but himself anymore and he needed to remain calm. He would be humiliated with himself if this situation robbed him of his composure as well.

The pair moved in silence for several minutes, occasionally stumbling in the dark or jumping when rats shot out of the darkness. Ulquiorra paused, able to make out a fork in the road. Grimmjow stopped as well, squinting in the darkness. "Left…" he mumbled and headed for the set of tracks on their left.

They had only made it a few feet past the fork and into an enclosed tunnel when suddenly, lights blared behind them and they both froze. Grimmjow turned around, barely able to see through the blindingly bright light. And the shrill scream of a whistle was heard, followed by the roar of what was clearly an engine sputtering to life. "Shit! Go back!" Grimmjow ordered but the train had already begun to move.

Grimmjow seized Ulquiorra's wrist but Ulquiorra needed no help from him as he began to sprint away down the tunnel with Grimmjow racing after him. They didn't get far before the train began to catch up with them, gaining speed while they only seemed to lose it.

The ground was shaking; the entire tunnel only seemed to enhance the roar of the engine. The train's lights illuminated the tunnel and Ulquiorra saw that up ahead, the tunnel split off into two different directions. But there was no way they'd make it there in time. Grimmjow might, but he wouldn't.

He looked over his shoulder and felt terror jump inside him when he saw that the train was only mere feet behind him now and his eyes began desperately scanning for an escape. And he flung himself to the side, pulling himself into a large dent in the wall and felt the train whoosh by him and he shut his eyes tightly, his heart racing in his chest as they train's cold, metallic body passed by mere inches from him.

Up ahead, Grimmjow flung himself around the corner and tumbled across the tracks as the train roared by and he lay still, his eyes screwed shut and still able to see the lights bouncing off his eyelids. The ground shook beneath him and the scream of the engines deafened him. And then, it all faded into the distance and he lay on his back in complete darkness, his phone clutched like a lifeline in his hand.

He opened his eyes and let them adjust to the darkness and then he realized just how quiet it was. "Ulquiorra?" he called, his eyes widening when he received no reply. _Oh shit. _He stood up, calling out, "Ulquiorra! Answer me, dammit!" He looked left and right, his eyes blindly searching the darkness for any sign that Ulquiorra was still with him.

_Ah shit! I thought he was right behind me!_

He was beginning to panic and he hastily turned on the flashlight in his phone and shone the light around the area. "Oh fuck—Ulquiorra! Get your ass over here!" he roared, stumbling as he made his way back to the tracks. With his heart racing, he peered slowly around the corner, expecting to see what was left of him smeared on the tracks.

If there was a body, it was too far back to see.

"Ulquiorra?" he called and before he could assume the worst, his flashlight caught the gleam of emerald eyes in the darkness and the familiar face of of the very person he was looking for. Grimmjow felt himself release a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "Why the fucking shit didn't you answer me?" he asked impatiently.

Ulquiorra said, his tone worn from all the running they'd done, "First it was because I was winded and shocked which is only to be expected and which is something you should have considered to begin with, then it was because I was surprised by how genuinely pathetic you sounded." Ulquiorra said none too apologetically.

"You little fucker." Grimmjow growled, his fists clenching. "Next time, you fucking keep up with me. If you're gonna nearly get killed that easily, I'm not gonna fuckin' bother with you." He snarled, striding ahead. "One might mistake your tone for worry." Ulquiorra noted, his tone cold but inside, he wasn't sure the idea of Grimmjow worrying about him sat well with him. Grimmjow wasn't supposed to worry. They meant nothing to each other.

Ulquiorra was still curious and decided to bother him more about what he had just heard. He felt that was as much as Grimmjow deserved for dragging him into this situation anyway. Ulquiorra said, "But it couldn't be worry. We just met one another and from what I can gouge from our interactions, we aren't exactly known for our tolerance of each other. You have no reason to worry about me and whether or not I die during this escapade of ours. In fact, it might even take some weight off your shoulders."

"Fuck you." Grimmjow retorted. "So in that sense," Ulquiorra continued mercilessly, "It would make little to no sense for you to worry about my life. So why worry?"

"You sure talk a lot of shit." Grimmjow said, turning around the glare at him. "And if we're really jumping to assumptions, I'm gonna go ahead and assume you want me to worry about you."

"I want the complete opposite." Ulquiorra countered.

"Great, you got it. Now shut the fuck up." Grimmjow snapped, turning around to find that they had reached a platform that the very train that had tried to run them over was parked in front of. "Move it." Grimmjow said and he and Ulquiorra headed towards the train and climbed onto the back. Grimmjow heaved open the door and stepped inside and slumped into a seat with a tired groan.

Ulquiorra slid the door closed and headed to a seat three seats down from Grimmjow. Ulquiorra sat down and every bone in his body welcomed being able to take his weight off his feet. Some people entered the train car and Ulquiorra figured some amount of time had to have passed while they were in the tunnel. He was exhausted and within moments, he found himself threatening to slip into sleep.

The sound of the engine starting up jolted him out of it however and he released a sigh through his nose. The train began to move and Ulquiorra lay his head back against the window behind him and slipped his eyes shut. He didn't know where they were going or how long it would take them to get there but he would leave that responsibility to Grimmjow and try and relax as much as he could.

He greatly doubted any rest would come for him however.

How could he sleep when he didn't know whether or not he'd ever return home again? His eyes opened and he felt a sense of loss washing over him. It was a very faint feeling, one he could recall feeling when he was little.

The instant he had let Grimmjow into his life, everything had changed. Every since he had met Grimmjow, he had begun to realize just how much more he wanted from his life. And now that his quiet, routine life was slipping farther beyond his reach, Ulquiorra was beginning to realize just how much he had appreciated it.

Work had been what many people called tedious at times, but Ulquiorra had never found his work difficult and if it was, he didn't complain. From a young age he had learned to deal with difficulty and as such, he had a tendency to look down on those who complained so easily about such small things. His home had been a small one and his neighbors were nosy, but it had been his first real home since he had moved out from his father's as soon as he was of age.

_Hm. I'm getting strangely nostalgic, _he realized bitterly, catching himself. But for once, he wouldn't correct himself too harshly. That job had been his first and he had stuck with it for many, many years. The same went for his house. And now because of Grimmjow, it was gone. Ulquiorra found himself looking at Grimmjow as his thoughts wondered to him. The man beside him was asleep, seemingly untroubled by all the damage he had dealt to Ulquiorra's life.

_I wouldn't expect him to feel anything. He doesn't have a home or a job that I know of. If I recall correctly, he was planning to get a career in wrestling. I suppose things haven't worked out well for either of us. I've lost my job; he's lost whatever chances there were of getting his—its only fitting._

_We're now equal in the most pathetic way possible._

Ulquiorra's eyes had remained on Grimmjow as his mind ran and when he left his thoughts momentarily, he realized how strange Grimmjow looked when he slept. He chose the word strange because it was unusual to see him without a scowl on his face. In his sleep, there was none.

The train screeched to a halt as it reached the next stop and Grimmjow jolted awake as he went rocked hard to the left and ended up slumping against Ulquiorra's shoulder. Ulquiorra tensed a little at the unintentional invasion of his space and Grimmjow sat up quickly, his scowl back in place momentarily before he yawned widely.

"The hell are we?" he mumbled, looking outside. "Almost there, one stop left." Grimmjow said and his voice trailed away as a police officer entered the train car. "Fuck." Ulquiorra tensed, his eyes watching the cop make his way to a seat a few feet away from them. Grimmjow pulled up his hood and lowered his head a little, muttering in annoyance.

Ulquiorra watched the officer wearily and found himself glancing at Grimmjow as well. _As much as it pains me to admit it—I need him. If the men pursuing him really do think they could use me to extract information about him or worse yet if they think I am an accomplice, I'll need Grimmjow with me if I want to get out of this situation alive._

Ulquiorra stood up and sat down on Grimmjow's right, blocking him from sight from the cop. Grimmjow looked over, a hint of surprise in his gaze. Ulquiorra said, "Don't mistake me. It's as much for my benefit as it is for yours." And Grimmjow leaned back a little in his seat and muttered sarcastically, "Never thought differently for a moment."

* * *

Eventually their train reached its stop and Grimmjow and Ulquiorra headed into the open air. Ulquiorra wasn't unhappy about leaving. He had never enjoyed the subway in the first place. During the day, it was like a mobile mental hospital. During the evenings, it was too crowded. Grimmjow stretched out and said, "Glad to be outta that shithole."

Ulquiorra found himself silently agreeing. "Where is this dealer? As soon as we've found him, I expect an explanation." He said, looking about the city's tall buildings. Grimmjow looked left and right and tucked his hands into his pockets. "Be fuckin' patient. Alright—this way." He said, seeming to remember the way. He led Ulquiorra away down the street and took a left.

Grimmjow said, pointing ahead to a tall apartment building, "That's the building. Let's move." And he increased his walking speed and Ulquiorra hastened to keep up with him. They hurried to the building and Ulquiorra asked, "Which apartment?" Grimmjow responded for him by stabbing a button on the intercom with his finger. The label beside the button read 16W. There was no response.

With an impatient growl, Grimmjow made to try again but the door buzzed and Ulquiorra hastily pushed it open and the pair headed inside to the elevator. The elevator took them to the 16th floor and Grimmjow took a left when they got out. Ulquiorra followed him. Grimmjow said, "He'll probably have some questions for you. He's a noisy pain in the ass." Grimmjow reached his apartment and found the door ajar and pushed it open. Ulquiorra stepped inside and looked around.

It was a very shady looking place, it was dirty and the lights were very dim. The man who lived here clearly didn't much care for his apartment if he kept it this way. The views from the dirty windows were good however, offering a view of the tops of buildings and the cars speeding by below them.

"Hey, Charlie, it's Grimmjow!" Grimmjow barked, looking around. "Whatever…" he muttered, not caring when there was no response. He figured Charlie was off doing something in another room and that he'd be out in a moment. Grimmjow actually preferred that he wasn't in the same room with them yet. The guy was a slob and unpleasant to be around but the weapons he sold were good.

Ulquiorra wanted to remain in this man's apartment as briefly as possible and said, "Are you aware of where he keeps them?" Grimmjow said, "_No_, if I was, we wouldn't be standing here. He never let me get a look. Let's check his room." Grimmjow said. Ulquiorra moved forward and paused when an unattractive odor hit his nose. He looked down and saw a bowl of cereal sitting on the table, uneaten.

"This is two days old." Ulquiorra noted. "So? He's a slob, Cifer. You don't have to be a genius to figure that out." Grimmjow retorted, opening the door to the bedroom and freezing. "Shit…" Ulquiorra turned towards him, instantly tense. "Ah fuck…" Grimmjow whispered. Ulquiorra asked somewhat tiredly, "What? Trying to be dramatic in this situation isn't—,"

"He's dead." Grimmjow announced.

And it was then that Ulquiorra felt a hand enclose around his neck. He was pulled backwards and pressed against a foreign body. "No surprise there, Jaegerjaquez." Grimmjow whipped around and his eyes widened. Szayel was standing behind him, holding Ulquiorra flush against him and pressing a large pistol into his head. "Even an infant could have figured that one out. Now, I want you to listen to everything I say next or your little friend will meet the same fate."

Ulquiorra could feel his heart thudding hard against his ribcage but in spite of his internal panic, he kept calm outside, trying to think of a way out of this situation. He looked at Grimmjow with wide eyes and he could see tension and anger in his face.

"I have come a long way to get you, Jaegerjaquez and I don't intend to waste a minute longer on you. Start walking to the door. Now. Any sudden moves and I'll blow your friend's skull apart." Ulquiorra didn't move an inch. He was concerned that any movement made on his behalf would trigger his instant death. He had no idea how either of them was going to get out of this.

Grimmjow said, advancing towards the door slowly, "How'd you find me? I just think it'd be fair to hunt down the bastard after this is over."

Szayel scoffed and tightened his hold around Ulquiorra's throat, making Ulquiorra's heart jump. He wanted to tell Grimmjow to stop talking and hurry up but he didn't dare speak. "It seems we have common tastes in who we choose to deal with. He just happened to let slip your name…it was an accident of course. But by now, he'll probably realize what a good use he's been. It was practically the only thing he was useful for. And what makes you think you're leaving, you cocky fool?" Szayel asked coldly.

"Well for one thing, threatening me by using that guy as a shield is fucking pointless. He ain't my friend. I could give a shit about what you do with him." Ulquiorra's eyes widened and despite his panic, he felt anger beginning to sink in. _Never mind the fact that I am only in this situation because of you, but of course, _I'm_ the one who is the problem. Not you. _"He's fucking useless!" Grimmjow exclaimed. "Do whatever you want with him. Hell, you'd be doing me a favor."

Even Szayel was looking a little disappointed.

_You piece of trash… _Ulquiorra felt his jaw clench. He had had _enough_ of this. He lifted his foot and slammed it down hard on Szayel's and Szayel doubled over with a shrill howl of pain. Ulquiorra whipped around and punched his attacker in the head and Grimmjow tore forward and plowed his foot into Szayel's stomach, sending him tumbling across the floor! Szayel's gun slid across the carpet and Grimmjow snatched it up and pointed it into Szayel's face. "Get the fuck up. Get up!" Grimmjow barked, kicking him in the stomach.

Szayel sputtered and began heaving himself to his feet. "Alright! Alright! I surrender…" and a dangerous gleam came into his eyes. "But that doesn't mean he will." And from behind them, the door slammed open! Ulquiorra whipped around in time to see a truly massive man charging towards him! Ulquiorra flung himself out of the way and Grimmjow fired his gun.

Yammy dodged and yelled, laughing, "You'll have to do better than that, Grimmjow!" and slammed a punch into his stomach. Grimmjow crashed to the floor and seized the fist flying towards his face to attempt to block the punch. Yammy drew back his other arm but before the punch could land, he was rammed into and sent sliding across the carpet. Ulquiorra's shoulder and ribs hurt from the impact but he felt satisfaction at seeing the bigger man go flying.

He heaved Grimmjow to his feet and Grimmjow barked, "Watch it!" Ulquiorra whipped around and just barely dodged Szayel's punch, he felt his fist slam against his ear however and he doubled over and heard Szayel advancing over the ringing in his left ear.

Grimmjow kicked Szayel in the ribs and Szayel grunted and retaliated with a vicious punch to Grimmjow's jaw. Yammy was on his feet and running at Ulquiorra. Ulquiorra barely dodged the punch thrown at him and felt a gust of air ruffle his clothing as Yammy's fist soared by him. With an angry shout, Yammy's foot suddenly shot out towards his face and Ulquiorra instinctively flung up his hands to block. The force of the kick nearly knocked the breath from him and he wasn't ready to block the next attack that nearly sent him toppling over.

Behind them, Grimmjow slammed an uppercut into Szayel's jaw and kicked him in the stomach, knocking him over. Grimmjow charged Yammy and slammed his elbow into his back. Yammy's punch was cut off and he was thrown forward. He took this opportunity to attempt to ram into Ulquiorra. Ulquiorra had already moved and as Yammy stumbled by, Ulquiorra kicked him hard in the back, hardly registering the pain in his foot as adrenaline coursed through him.

Grimmjow moved quickly and before Yammy could turn around, Grimmjow slammed the man's head into the wall. Yammy roared in pain and flung back his arm, Grimmjow caught it and wrenched it back and Yammy was screaming in agony! Ulquiorra could only watch in astonishment as Grimmjow pulled Yammy from the wall and punched him multiple times in the face, each fleshy hit resounding in the room. Yammy blocked the third hit and with a yell, slammed his knee into Grimmjow's stomach.

Grimmjow doubled over and Yammy drew back his fist! Grimmjow dodged and slammed his elbow into Yammy's ribs and quickly slammed a kick into him. Ulquiorra hadn't seen anything like this blue haired fighter before. Ulquiorra was only further reminded that despite his previous claims that Grimmjow was predictable, this man really was a complete surprise to him.

In all actuality now that he watched him fight, Ulquiorra wouldn't have doubted for a moment that he had indeed killed those people back in Japan. This man was a muscle bound fighting machine. Everything about him in this moment was brutal and yet he was completely alert, those electric blue eyes searching for openings with every hit thrown at him and every blow he landed.

He was no fool. He knew exactly what weaknesses to look for and he knew exactly where to hit his opponent where it hurt. He had fought before, many, many times—and judging by the bloodthirsty grin on his face, he loved every second he was in combat. And before Ulquiorra knew it, Grimmjow slammed his elbow down on the back of Yammy's head, smashing his face into the wooden floor.

Grimmjow was breathing heavily and sweating too. He turned to look at Ulquiorra and Ulquiorra felt a chill race down his back at the sight of the cold look in his eyes. "Impressive." He stated. Grimmjow let loose a feral smirk. "Is that all? You know, for a pretty boy, you don't hit so bad either."

"That is surprising to hear, considering a few moments ago you would have had me killed by that man." Ulquiorra said, glancing towards Szayel. Grimmjow lifted a hand to wipe at his bloody lower lip and said, "Hey, about that—," Ulquiorra said, "I don't need to hear it. You did it to provoke me into action. You also took a great risk. He could have very well killed me."

Grimmjow ran a hand through his hair and said slowly, "What the fuck else was I supposed to do? You're alive aren't you?"

He spoke with little to no pain in his voice, though the split on his lower lip looked like it would have made talking difficult for anyone. _I am not sure I even want to know how many times this man has been hurt or hurt others. _Grimmjow reached over and pulled a napkin from the table to blot at his lip and said, "The hell are we waiting for? Get the damn guns, assuming these pieces of shit haven't stashed 'em somewhere or sold 'em off to the rest of their gang."

Ulquiorra reminded himself of their mission and headed into the bedroom to search. It took little to no time to hear a very loud creak beneath his feet. Hidden by the worn carpet was a set of loose floorboards. Ulquiorra said, "I've found something." Grimmjow hurried over and kicked the floorboards in. Different kinds of pistols lay on the floor beneath the smashed wooden boards. There was also numerous kinds of ammo.

Grimmjow knelt, still pressing the napkin to his lip, and picked up what looked like a Desert Eagle. "Sweet. I don't even wanna know how this asshole got his hands on this or how he got away with it." He said, reaching for ammo to load the gun with. Ulquiorra knew he should probably take one too but he was reluctant. He'd never wanted to wield a weapon in his life. But he knew that if he wanted to get out of America alive, this was the only option.

"Which one do you recommend?" he asked. Grimmjow said, "The one I got is plenty powerful. You know how to use a gun?" he asked. "I'm sure you do, though I don't want to know why." Ulquiorra said, carefully lifting the Desert Eagle from the hole in the ground. Grimmjow said, "No need to hold it like it's a dead rat, Cifer. It ain't gonna bite you." Grimmjow said, reaching out to position the gun in his hand but Ulquiorra brushed his hand away. "No need. I know how to hold one."

"How?"

"Probably not for reasons you do." Ulquiorra said. He had only ever seen these weapons held in movies, seen them in the belts of police officers as they patrolled the streets.

Ulquiorra held it by the grip. It was cold against his hand and heavier than he expected. He was holding something made for the sheer purpose of taking another person's life and for a moment, he was inclined to drop it and just let Grimmjow do all the shooting since he seemed so eager.

Grimmjow was watching him closely and he could see the reluctance in Ulquiorra's eyes. He said, "Look, just use it whenever you feel like it's necessary or whenever I tell you to. Just let me do most of the fighting, got it?" Grimmjow would have been lying to himself if he said he didn't feel the slightest bit guilty. It was a lot to ask another person to do, he knew from experience. But if Ulquiorra wanted to live, he would need to learn if not _how_ to kill, but _when_ to kill.

"But load it up just in case." He instructed, heading to the living room to check on Szayel and Yammy's status. Ulquiorra looked down at the cold weapon in his hand and heaved a silent sigh before tucking the weapon in the back pocket of his jeans, making sure to untuck his shirt from his pants to better conceal the weapon.

"You ready?" Grimmjow asked and Ulquiorra turned around to find Grimmjow putting his gun in the same place as Ulquiorra's. "To kill other people? Not really." Ulquiorra admitted, placing his hands into his pockets to keep them from fidgeting at his side too much. "But as they are our enemy, I suppose I really do have no choice in the matter."

He saw Grimmjow frown a little at the tone of his voice. Ulquiorra was intrigued. Grimmjow was being unusually courteous. "Is there a problem?" he asked, "Or should we go?" Grimmjow seemed to want to say something but oddly enough, he chose not to. "Let's get a move on." He said, walking towards the door. He froze however when he heard the sirens in the distance. Ulquiorra tensed. "We just made it easier for the police to find us." Ulquiorra said, realization in his tone.

"Fuck." Grimmjow said, hurrying to the elevator and jabbing his finger on the button to call it. "Ulquiorra," Grimmjow said as the elevator got closer and closer to their level. Ulquiorra looked over and Grimmjow said, "There's one thing I don't want you doing with that gun."

Ulquiorra listened. Grimmjow said, "Don't _ever_ be dumb enough shoot a cop. They have enough reason to hate me already."

"That is all?" Ulquiorra asked, realizing that he felt fairly desperate for more information. He truly wasn't ready for the events that were sure to unfold when they ran from the lobby. He wasn't in a hurry to learn how to use the gun pressing into the small of his back. He wasn't in a hurry to run from the law with this man. He was longing for the time when, only a few days ago, his only concern in the world was that he had to work on notes for the trial back in city hall.

As dull as he had begun to find his life, now that he was no longer in control of anything in his life, he would have given nearly anything to be able to have his quiet, life back.

And the elevator was here and Grimmjow was stepping into it. Ulquiorra numbly followed him inside. The elevator descended, the sirens beneath them got louder. Ulquiorra watched the countdown on the elevator. Grimmjow looked up at him and said, "Whatever's holding you back, let it go now. You can't run with laden feet. You can't shoot with a reluctant arm. Because next you know, _you'll _be the one lying face down on the pavement, drinking in your own blood. It's time to leave everything behind, Cifer. Don't think about it, don't even try it. Makes it harder. All you have to do is run."

The elevator doors opened and they could see the police waiting in the lobby a few feet ahead of them, their riot shields raised and at the ready, their weapons out. "On my signal…" Grimmjow whispered, his tense blue eyes surveying the group before them. "Jaegerjaquez, Cifer! Put your hands in the air!" Ulquiorra did nothing, his hands clenched into fists inside his pockets. He let out a shallow breath to prepare himself.

Grimmjow tensed beside him and Ulquiorra braced himself for the steps he was about to take, the steps that would make him an accomplice to Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez and the steps that would take him farther from the possibility of returning home than ever before. "Did you hear me?! I said put your hands up or we will use force!" and beside him, Grimmjow hissed, "Now…_run like hell_." There was no time to think, he didn't allow himself a moment to question his next move. The cops opened fire as Grimmjow and Ulquiorra raced towards the doors. Grimmjow dove behind a pillar and Ulquiorra covered his head in his hands as he ducked behind a very large plant across from Grimmjow. "Move!" Grimmjow yelled, racing out from cover and tearing to the door!

Ulquiorra was running past the cops, shoving them away when they tried to latch onto him and Grimmjow was fighting his way through after him. And they were outside and tearing away down the street. Ulquiorra could hear his blood pumping in his ears; he could feel his feet pounding the pavement. He tore through the crowds, pushing his way through and past people. And behind them, Ichigo Kurosaki stepped from his car as it pulled up sharply on the sidewalk. "Jaegerjaquez!" he roared, beginning to sprint after them. Grimmjow whipped out his gun and fired it at a car about to stop for the pedestrians at the corner Ichigo was approaching. The driver panicked and drove out in front of Ichigo, cutting him off.

Ulquiorra looked to his left and saw Grimmjow beckon. "This way!" he called and Ulquiorra followed him around the corner. Times Square was directly ahead and they hurried towards it and by the time Ichigo had rounded the corner behind them, they had vanished into the crowds of Times Square.

* * *

_Japan, Tokyo._

Nnoitra Gilga stepped outside his building and watched as a car pulled up outside. He smirked. Judging by how full the car looked, today's work had been successful. The front doors opened and the drivers headed to the backseat and opened the doors before forcefully pulling the confused women from the car. Nnoitra chuckled, his smirk widening. Oh these were fine women indeed; they were bound to fetch a lovely price for the syndicate downtown.

But Nnoitra always liked to inspect them first, make sure they listened and were able to do what a man told them to do. He didn't want the buyers complaining. "The hell are you waiting for, get 'em up here." Nnoitra ordered impatiently.

"Any one in particular, Nnoitra-sama?" asked a blond man.

Nnoitra looked them over. One of them caught his interest in particular. Her body type was just to his liking although she was rounder than he normally would have liked.

"That one, Tesla." He ordered and Tesla shoved her forward and she staggered up to him. Nnoitra's eyes wandered her frame hungrily and he said, "Oh yes, you'll do just fine. I'm sure the buyers wouldn't mind me having a sample before I shipped you and those other bitches downtown." She began to look very nervous. "What exactly are you talking about?" She turned towards Tesla and said, "I was told I would find work at a store here! Where have you taken me?!"

"Did I _tell _you talk, woman?" Nnoitra spat, seizing her wrist in a vice like grip, her loud voice instantly beginning to grate on his nerves. "If I have to tell you to shut up one more time, you're gonna wish you _were _joining them."

And suddenly, his phone rang. With a snarl, he answered. "What the _fuck_ do you want Grantz? I'm fucking busy!"

Szayel's voice responded, "I am dreadfully sorry Nnoitra-sama. You don't suppose you could call Kenpachi and tell him to send some of the others over to the police station at 40th and 9th do you? Yammy and I…are in a bit of a tight spot."

Nnoitra said, "What the fuck did you do?"

"We got arrested! Get us out!" Yammy exclaimed and heard Szayel attempt to shush him. "Not arrested exactly," Szayel said hastily, "Just…tied up."

"When did I ever make it clear that I gave two _shits_ about you or that fat fuck, Grantz? _Where _is Jaegerjaquez?"

Szayel hesitated and then said, "We cornered him…but he escaped." Nnoitra's jaw clenched and anger began to rise within him. "This is the second _fuckin'_ time, Grantz…And you know what…I'm tired of waiting. You and Yammy can sit and rot in a cell for all I care! You're no use to me."

"After all I've done for you, you're abandoning me?! How dare you?!" Szayel shouted. "You—you_ fool!_ You'll be nothing without me! Just wait until I—!" Nnoitra hung up, his upper lip curling. "Morons."

He was done with waiting. He had sent so many of his men down to New York and not_ one_ of them could lay a scratch on Jaegerjaquez! It was damn pathetic. It was time for a change in plan, one he'd been saving for last. He'd been hoping to avoid it, but if this was what it took, he was damn well willing to do it. He smirked._ This'll rile them up…_He began to call a member of his gang. He answered, "Yes, Nnoitra-sama?" Nnoitra said, "Listen up and be sure to spread this around! I'm sick of waiting!" he growled and in his anger, his hold on the girl tightened and she whimpered.

"It's obvious you lot just ain't capable of bringing him back alive…So bring him back dead and with his head on a spike and if you're lucky, whoever kills 'im will be rewarded! Is that clear?" He snarled.

"Yes, Nnoitra-sama."

"Good. You fuck this up and make me come down there myself to do it, I will kill every _single_ one that failed me. Bring me his head." Nnoitra hung up and barked, "Tesla, get those sluts downtown already!"

"Yes, Nnoitra-sama." Tesla said, pulling out a gun and pointing it at the women. "In the car." He ordered and they scrambled to get in. "Come back in an hour for this one." Nnoitra said, looking down with lustful eyes at the scared women. "Sir, sir I think you're confused! I'm not a prostitute, please just let me go and—!"

His hand gripped her face and he said, "Shut the hell up, _slut_. You do _everything_ I tell you to do. That clear? The buyer may need you, but I can easily change his mind. Get inside." And he forced open the door and threw her in before stepping inside after her and slamming the door behind him.

* * *

Author's notes; as of this chapter, I have made a draft for every single upcoming chapter so I don't make any mistakes. I really think this story will be a good one. There's lots more excitement coming, more bonding for Grimmjow and Ulquiorra and I am really excited to get to writing the next chapter! I hope Ulquiorra isn't too OOC by the way. I want him to react to these situations but I don't want him to overreact. He's never been in these situations before and I want to explore his reactions to them but hopefully still keep him his stoic, reclusive self undamaged. I hope I am doing an okay job with that. Hopefully you guys enjoyed this chapter! Next one will probably be coming soon.

Till next time. :)


	6. A deal is struck

Chapter 6

Ichigo entered police headquarters and headed towards Renji Abarai's desk. Five minutes ago he had received a call to head back to the station. The guy calling him—Renji—was a friend of Ichigo's back in Japan and had transferred (along with a few others) to New York with him to deal with the "Grimmjow Problem" as the others called it.

"Yo." Ichigo greeted, halting in front of Renji's desk and Renji didn't move. The red-haired man wore sunglasses, making it hard to tell if he was just relaxing in his chair or sleeping. Ichigo scowled and barked, "Renji! I'm here when I could be out chasing Jaegerjaquez! What do you have to show me?"

Renji was still quiet. Ichigo snapped, "Hey are you dead or somethin'? Wake up already!" and finally, Ichigo grew sick of waiting and kicked his chair and Renji jolted awake. "The hell—? Oh. It's you. Took you long enough." He grumbled, stretching.

"Stop complaining!" Ichigo said impatiently. "I got stuck in traffic. What did you have to show me?"

"This way. I think you'll like this." Renji said, grinning. He stood up and beckoned for Ichigo to follow him and Ichigo did.

Renji led him through the crowded offices and towards the interrogation room. Once they arrived, Ichigo saw his father standing outside the glass window, looking in at something. "Dad, what have we got?" Ichigo asked and Isshin lightly smacked him on the head when he was close enough.

"Ow! Come on!" Ichigo grumbled, rubbing his head of orange hair where his father had hit him.

"You're late." Isshin reprimanded and Ichigo said, "Yeah, tell me something I don't know." He turned from his father to the two men inside the room. They were both very interesting looking to say the least.

One of them looked clearly wasn't all Asian or he was just very tanned. He was absolutely massive; he was either at least twice Ichigo's size, or all the muscle made him look bigger. The other was lanky and relatively tall and had a head of bright pink hair and a set of amber eyes. He was sitting calmly while his big friend looked around, seemingly bored.

"Who are they?" Ichigo asked, wide eyed.

"They haven't given their names," Isshin said, "But when the officers who brought them in searched them, he found tattoos all over their back. They were armed to the teeth, too."

"The _Yakuza_?" Ichigo asked, turning sharply to look at him. "Jaegerjaquez has got the _Yakuza _chasing him? The _hell_ did he do to piss them off?"

"Who knows, maybe the people he killed were clients? Maybe he was with 'em. We don't know. These guys won't say a thing. But, I'm hoping you could loosen them up."

Ichigo looked towards his father in surprise. "Me?"

"Yes, you." Isshin repeated. "Go in there and give 'em the what for. If there's anyone who is a bossy pain in the ass who never knows when to shut up or quit until he's got what he needs to know; it's you. Get in there." Isshin said, slapping him on the back.

Ichigo said, "Got it." And, with excitement racing inside him, he headed towards the door. The pink haired man looked up when Ichigo entered and his friend turned and glared fiercely at him. Ichigo took a seat across from them and said, "Hey. Sorry it took so long to get here."

"We're not answering any of your damn questions, cop!" the big man snarled. "Let us go!"

The man beside him rolled his amber eyes. "Keep it down, would you, you big, stupid _brute._" he said coldly, his tone implying he wasn't at all concerned about their predicament and that he was merely bored. "We'll be out of here shortly."

"We'll see about that." Ichigo said and he asked, "Who do you work for and why are you here?"

"As if we'll tell you that. Don't be so arrogant." The pink haired man said, scoffing. "No petty threats will convince me to slip any of that information to you."

"Well how about this one; you're both_ Yakuza_ members. You're not going to just be _allowed_ to walk out of here. You will be trialed and sent to jail where you will sit in a cell for…at the most probably 50 years, knowing the kinds of things you lot do. Or at worst, you'll be given a life sentence and left to sit in a cell until you rot."

Both of their expressions had gotten considerably less confident and fear was starting to show on their faces. They both looked at one another.

The pink haired man said cynically, "And talking to _you_ will help us lessen our sentence?"

"No. But if it comes down to it, I'll be willing to supply the information at the trial. Can't guarantee what good it will do, but you never know." Ichigo said.

"What information?"

"That you helped me track down a Yakuza leader and put him and the rest of his members behind bars." Ichigo said and he saw the man furrow his brow, thinking. He chuckled. "Now that you mention it…that does sound highly beneficial to us…" he mused.

Ichigo could tell he was close to getting an answer. _Go for it, _he thought

"Listen you either tell me or I leave and let you deal with another officer. None of them will be as patient as I am. A lot of the men from Asia sitting outside have had past encounters with your group. They won't be as friendly towards you as I am. Now _talk_."

The man across from him flicked his amber eyes towards the cops outside watching, his eyes widened when he seemed to recognize a few of them. To Ichigo's surprise, the man wasted hardly any time with his answers, "We're from the Kamakiri gang in Tokyo. Our leader is Nnoitra Gilga."

"And who are you after that caused you to shoot down a whole squad of officers outside Ulquiorra Cifer's house?" Ichigo asked. The man replied, "Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. He has…history with us, if you understand what I'm saying. He went rogue and Yammy and I, and _many_ others, were sent to hunt him down and bring him back alive to face the consequences of his actions."

Ichigo could feel excitement racing inside him, though he kept calm on the outside. He was so close to getting some answers. "What did he do?"

And before Szayel could reply, the door was pounded on and Isshin opened it and said, "I hate to interrupt Ichigo but they're asking for you. A patrol spotted a bunch of black cars speeding away towards Times Square. They were all licensed from Japan."

Ichigo stood up and Szayel said, "You're sure you want to go and interfere? After all the deaths that occurred the last time your officers got in our way? I'd say leave this to us."

"I'm not letting a bunch of _criminals_ turn in a criminal." Ichigo said determinedly. "Just answer me this; where is your boss's location?"

Szayel smirked and gave him the answer without a moment's hesitation. Ichigo was alarmed by just how easily these guys gave up information. But he wasn't complaining.

Jaegerjaquez was hardly a problem now. They had to take care of the gang hunting him down first before they could hope to get their hands on him. But Ichigo still wanted to try anyway. Ichigo turned and headed towards the door and the large man behind him said, "Hey! You'll keep us outta jail right?!"

Ichigo turned and said, "For all the information you've given me, I'll do the best I can. But I can't promise much more than a few of years off your sentence."

"That'll do just fine." said the pink haired man. "Just don't die, hmm?"

And Ichigo was out the door in moments and moving swiftly away down the hall.

* * *

Grimmjow was racing away down the street, pushing his way through crowds of people as he ran. Ulquiorra was several feet ahead of him and still moving fast. Grimmjow heaved himself through the tight crowd and hurried after Ulquiorra. "Dammit, this guy runs fast!" Grimmjow muttered breathlessly, his feet slapping the pavement painfully hard as he hastened to keep up with Ulquiorra. He could hear police sirens behind them and he looked over his shoulder.

The police cars were approaching and fast, Grimmjow could only imagine they hadn't seen them yet because of the crowds. He wasn't sure if anymore were following them on foot either because the crowds behind them were too dense to see through. Grimmjow scowled when he saw the cars pick up speed as the traffic began to lessen. He looked ahead and saw that the crowds up ahead weren't as thick At this rate, they'd see Ulquiorra perfectly.

"Hey! Wait!" Grimmjow roared and Ulquiorra screeched to a halt and turned around. Grimmjow beckoned and Ulquiorra began to move quickly back to him but at the speed the police cars were moving at, they'd undoubtedly see Ulquiorra before he got to Grimmjow. Ulquiorra had noticed this too for his eyes had widened and his feet were beginning to halt their movements as he approached Grimmjow. Grimmjow decided to meet him halfway and ran to him and the instant he was within reach, seized his jacket and wrenched him to the side, pulling him into a store just as the cars slowed down momentarily to better search the street.

Grimmjow pulled them both to the side, pushing Ulquiorra up against him as the cars sped by the store windows. They were both breathing hard and neither was in a hurry to move so they remained awkwardly pushed up against each other for a few seconds. Ulquiorra looked up from where his face was buried in Grimmjow's chest and found out how close they were. Grimmjow felt himself smirk. "Pretty eyes you got there." He noted and Ulquiorra took two steps back from him and knelt over with his hands on his knees, taking in shallow breathes through his nose.

Grimmjow chuckled. "_Shit_ you run fast. You were running fuckin' faster than_ I_ was. Not bad. 'Cept you almost got caught."

Ulquiorra said, "In my defense I'll say that just as I was stopping, I'd thought of heading into the store."

"Why didn't you?" Grimmjow asked.

Strangely enough, Ulquiorra seemed to hesitate a moment and Grimmjow instantly felt curious. This guy never hesitated in his retorts. Each one was already carefully planned out nearly instantly after Grimmjow spoke to him, or at least that was what Grimmjow had learned through the short time they'd known one another. He clearly did not want to admit something, though Grimmjow was unsure why. He said, "I wasn't sure I'd make it."

"Sure." Grimmjow said, smirking and not convinced at all. Whatever Ulquiorra was hiding from him, Grimmjow wanted in on it. He peered around the pillar and checked the street. His eyes widened when he saw the cops step from their car and head towards the store. Panic filled him and he knew they needed to move and fast. "Shit!" He seized Ulquiorra's arm and pulled the man into the clothing store. He pulled his hood up as he ran and hastily ran up to a rack that had several jackets hanging off of it. He snatched one and moved quickly towards the changing rooms, wanting to draw as little attention to himself as possible.

He and Ulquiorra hurried into the changing rooms (Grimmjow grabbed a black T shirt on his way in) and Grimmjow pulled him into a stall and closed the door and locked it behind them. Ulquiorra mumbled, "I don't even want to know how suspicious that might look."

Grimmjow said, "Who cares?" and removed his jacket. "I don't see why we're hiding in a stall." Ulquiorra said, sitting down on a bench behind him and glancing towards the door. "They could check back here and—," Grimmjow tossed his dirtied jacket on the floor and began to remove his shirt and he heard Ulquiorra's speech falter.

Grimmjow felt himself grin, amused at Ulquiorra's sudden lack of vocabulary. Ulquiorra said tiredly, "Tell me you aren't taking off any more than that."

"Not unless you want me to." Grimmjow replied, grinning wider as he imagined the look of mild annoyance on Ulquiorra's face. He picked up the new shirt and pulled it on. It was a good fit and he found that the hood worked well too. He could practically feel Ulquiorra's eyes on his back however while he changed.

He didn't even know if Ulquiorra was aware of his staring. "Like something?" he asked, looking over his shoulder and Ulquiorra instantly looked towards the doors. Grimmjow had to hold in a cackle.

"As if. I was busy looking at the tattoos on your back." Ulquiorra said.

"Course you were." Grimmjow said. He realized that might be true. He couldn't actually recall turning his back on Ulquiorra when they had fucked so it was very likely Ulquiorra hadn't seen them before. Now that they weren't running and that his mind was momentarily clear, he found his mind attempting to wonder back to the night they'd spent together and he instantly stopped it.

"You can pay for this, right?" Grimmjow asked though it sounded more of a demand. He could practically hear Ulquiorra's mouth turn down at the idea. "If you're so concerned with disguising yourself why not change your hair?" Ulquiorra asked. Grimmjow heard him stand and move to the door and open it. "Like hell." Grimmjow growled, not liking that suggestion at all.

After they made sure the cost was clear, Ulquiorra led the way to the checkout and purchased the new jacket and shirt (while it was still on Grimmjow since he didn't want to risk revealing himself to the cashier) and they both left the store and headed out into the gloomy streets of Times Square. The sky was gray today and there was moisture in the air, promising rain later.

Grimmjow dumped his old jacket and shirt in a garbage can and fell into step beside Ulquiorra. "What's our next step?" Ulquiorra asked and Grimmjow knew instantly. He said, "We need to get outta the city. But first, I need to eat something or I'll fucking fall over."

If Ulquiorra had been about to frown at the idea of leaving the city, his head turned sharply towards Grimmjow when he mentioned eating as if surprised he was hungry at all after all the running they'd done and how many times they'd nearly died barely within a few hours.

"I'm starving." Grimmjow said impatiently, not liking the stare the smaller man was giving him. Grimmjow could recall eating lunch yesterday at 4:00 in the afternoon. He hadn't had time to eat dinner because that orange haired brat had turned up in Ulquiorra's apartment and from then on, he'd had to race upstairs and take shelter in Ulquiorra's room as cops surrounded his apartment.

He was actually so hungry, he was shaking a little.

"I don't think that is advisable." Ulquiorra said and Grimmjow felt some of his patience snap. Grimmjow stopped walking and Ulquiorra stopped as well and turned at look at him. Grimmjow said, "I'm hungry."

"And we can eat once we've figured out a plan."

Grimmjow wasn't for that at all. "I said I'm _hungry_."

"I heard you and I don't care."

"I am not taking a_ single_ damn step until I eat something, Cifer." Grimmjow growled.

Ulquiorra didn't look impressed at all with Grimmjow's childlike behavior. If Grimmjow weren't so hungry he himself might have noticed what a child he was behaving like. Ulquiorra sighed and looked left and right around the street to try and figure out where they were. He spotted a street sign, thought for a moment and said, "There is a Café a few blocks from here. We'll head there. I myself am feeling peckish."

Grimmjow eagerly fell into step beside him and Ulquiorra noted, "Hm, contrary to your word about your immobility until you ate something, you did take a step." And Grimmjow scowled and shoved him.

* * *

Ulquiorra could honestly say that, despite running for his life through dirtied subway tunnels and getting chased by trains in the process and then later running from armed police shortly after fighting a couple of thugs, that watching Grimmjow devour his food was the worst part of it all.

Of course, he wasn't serious, but he might as well have been. Grimmjow's eating manners were atrocious when he was starving and it was quite repulsive to watch. Feeling people watching them, Ulquiorra said, "Aren't we supposed to be keeping a low profile?"

Grimmjow's eating calmed a little and he said, "If they were here, we'd know it by now. Eat. I don't want you getting fatigued while we're running."

Ulquiorra began to eat his salad and Grimmjow said, pushing his food to the back of his back, "Where'd you learn to run like that anyway? You were booking it faster than me back there."

"I ran track regularly in high school." Ulquiorra answered. Grimmjow swallowed the remainder of his sandwich and said, "That explains it. Then again, I was also stuck in between shit tons of people back there." Ulquiorra glanced outside as a police car or two sped by, his feet tensing as if ready to spring from his chair. He found himself sighing, not liking how jumpy he was.

He actually didn't care for much of the situation right now; he was jumpy, on the run from the police and eating lunch with a wanted fugitive. It wasn't a very desirable situation. He took in a slow breath and continued to eat. Grimmjow drummed his fingers on the table and said, "I can't imagine high school was that great for you. You're exactly the type of person some bigger kid would pick on."

"I don't see why it matters."

"It doesn't. I'm just curious." Grimmjow said, glancing outside.

Ulquiorra said, "If you want to know, it wasn't. But I can imagine many people will say the same. It's a miserable place. Everywhere you look people are doing everything they can to fit in, be it by doing drugs, throwing up their lunch, bedding someone so they can boast about it or other disgusting activities. I never felt like I fit in there since I had no urge to vomit what I last ate or to waste my time doing drugs or sleeping with people. I did my work and got out. But I'd imagine you know what high school is like."

"I don't actually but it sounds fuckin' lovely." Grimmjow said, gulping his water. Ulquiorra looked up from his food. "You didn't go?"

"Didn't have the money. Doesn't sound like I missed anything though." Grimmjow said, "And don't look at me like that. I ain't uneducated; all the information I needed to learn in school I got from books. I'm every _bit_ as intelligent as the next man, hell probably even more because I actually gave a shit about educating myself."

Ulquiorra was surprised, at least a little, by Grimmjow's dedication. He'd never heard of anyone doing all of that work by themselves unless they were in school. And even when they were in school, a lot of his classmates had passed around cheat sheets before exams or horsed around. It sounded like Grimmjow of all people was more dedicated to learning and making sure he had good education than a lot of his classmates. Probably because he didn't have the means to properly educate himself.

Ulquiorra said, "I'm not sure I want to know if you obtained those books illegally or not. But in any case, it is actually fairly impressive that you were so concerned about giving yourself the same education that school kids get despite your financial problems."

"Is that a compliment?"

"No. I'm stating a fact." Ulquiorra said.

"Sounds like a compliment to me." Grimmjow said, smirking at him.

Before Ulquiorra could retort, Grimmjow said, "Doesn't sound like you had a great high school experience. Couldn't you find a better one full of dedicated, workaholic tightasses like you? Why settle for that one?"

Ulquiorra ignored the insults and said, "I didn't pick it. My father did."

"Sounds like your dad wasn't that much like you if he sent you there." Grimmjow said and Ulquiorra was yet again surprised by his perceptiveness. Ulquiorra was quiet and looked out the window, not sure how to respond in a way that wouldn't make Grimmjow ask any more questions concerning his parents.

"He wasn't. I prefer to leave it at that."

"Whatever." Grimmjow replied and Ulquiorra was surprised he left it alone.

Ulquiorra was about to note that they had just had yet another civil conversation with one another when Grimmjow said, "Let me ask you something," Ulquiorra looked over, wondering if he'd been wrong about his assumption that Grimmjow wouldn't bring up his parents.

"Why'd you bother running out into the rain to get me?" Ulquiorra hadn't expected that question to pop up. "You're still thinking about that?" Ulquiorra asked. "No, _don't _mistake me. But by the sounds of it, you ain't exactly the type to hang around people unless you have to. So why'd you make an exception for me?"

Ulquiorra wasn't sure how to answer in a way that sounded detached. He didn't want Grimmjow thinking he cared about him. Ulquiorra still wanted this relationship between them to be as simple as possible until they had to part ways. He had spent a long time keeping his distance from people, he wasn't about to change that.

But he supposed the real truth of the matter was that for some reason, in a _miniscule _way, he rather liked—,

Ulquiorra stopped the train of thought right there and said, "It doesn't matter. But the fact that you are still thinking about it warms the cockles of my heart."

"Oh, you have one?" Grimmjow retorted, annoyed about Ulquiorra's lack of response.

"And judging by the disappointed tone of your voice, you clearly wanted that answer more than you like to admit."

Grimmjow looked confused. "When the hell did I say I was disappointed?"

"By the fact that you are using anger to cover your disappointment at my lack of response, I would say it is perfectly clear that you are. If you're looking for companionship, look elsewhere. The last person I would be friends with is you."

Grimmjow said arrogantly, "Well _look _who's jumping to conclusions. If you don't shut up about how we're never going to be friends, I'd say _you're _actually the one looking for it."

"Now you're the one jumping to conclusions," Ulquiorra argued and before Grimmjow could retort, he looked to his left and his eyes widened. Ulquiorra barely had time to turn his head before Grimmjow promptly hurled himself across the table and knocked them both onto the ground just as the windows were peppered with bullets!

The glass exploded over their heads and rained down upon them and people all around them began screaming and running for the exits. Ulquiorra heard Grimmjow curse and say, "Those bastards opened fire on me!"

Ulquiorra said, "That's unusual?"

"Yes! Before they would threaten me to come with them! Now they're openly attacking me!"

Ulquiorra was beginning to see where this was going and he didn't like it. "Their orders have changed." Ulquiorra realized.

Grimmjow's scowl hardened and he said his tone angry and malicious, "Bout fucking time." And he pulled his gun from his back pocket and peered out the window. The car had driven away. He didn't have time to question where because the windows by the seating area ahead of them were blown to pieces as bullets pierced them! By the sounds of it and by the amount of bullets-fired in rapid spurts-they were using a machine gun. "Fuck..." Grimmjow hissed.

Knowing that crouching behind the sill would no longer help, Grimmjow quickly darted across the room and crouched behind the chairs and once the bullets stopped, he fired a shot towards the open window of the black van. The car began to move however and his bullet hit the door instead. Before the car could completely start however, there was an uttered warning and a massive _bang_ close to his ear, nearly making him deaf, as Ulquiorra fired at the tires. "Down!" Grimmjow ordered and they both ducked behind the seats as the rapid shots were fired again.

He heard the van doors slide open and heard the sounds of multiple footsteps hurrying their way. Grimmjow jumped up and fired a shot into a man's chest. He fell dead and Grimmjow caught of glimpse of how many there were. There were at least seven of them. "Easy enough…" he mumbled and before he could fire again, he heard more cars pull up outside the building. Shots were fired at their feet and Grimmjow yelled, "We gotta move!" and Ulquiorra was on his feet and racing towards the back exit with Grimmjow right behind him.

Grimmjow whipped around and quickly took aim at a man as he jumped up behind the window and prepared to fire. Grimmjow shot him right in the head and felt a bullet hit the wall behind him and he turned and hurried through the door. "They're heading into the back!" someone called. Ulquiorra pushed a shelf in front of the door and before Grimmjow could go through the backdoor ahead of them, Ulquiorra grabbed his arm and said, "There is a high probability that they'll be waiting for us."

"What the hell _else _should we do?" Grimmjow exclaimed and Ulquiorra quickly looked about them and spotted a door that led behind the counter where the chiefs made their sandwiches. "There." He said and he hurried to it and quietly opened the door. Grimmjow stammered, "What the f—they'll know for sure, you stupid—!"

The door was rammed into and the shelf wobbled precariously. Ulquiorra crouched down and opened the door very quietly and crept through. Grimmjow snarled in anger and followed. He kept low behind the counter, listening to the gang members pounding against the door.

The counter was enclosed, not allowing access for anyone outside it. But he also couldn't see how they'd get out easily. "This was the fucking stupidest—," Grimmjow hissed and he heard the shelf collapse in the next room and as the men began to go inside, Ulquiorra sat up and carefully climbed over the counter and softly landed behind the men as they hurried into the room.

Grimmjow followed him and as he landed on the other side, he and Ulquiorra began to move as quietly as they could towards the doors. And the instant they were outside, Grimmjow looked around and spotted an empty black van outside. "Get to it." Grimmjow hissed and without warning, a black van pulled into the area, the same one from before.

The rapid spurts of gunfire filled the air and Ulquiorra hurried to it and crouched behind the empty van, his eyes wide as he realized Grimmjow wasn't behind cover. Grimmjow doubled back into the café and crouched behind the sill, knowing that if he wanted to make it to that van, he'd have to run and fast.

Ulquiorra meanwhile climbed into the van and started the engine and began reversing fast, smashing the back of his car into the hood of the shooter's car. Grimmjow watched with wide eyes and before he could move, the door behind him banged open and Grimmjow pushed himself over the sill and sprinted away towards Ulquiorra's van.

He fired a shot over his shoulder as he felt a bullet hit the ground behind him. The man shooting at him fell dead and Grimmjow heaved himself into the driving seat beside Ulquiorra and stepped on the gas. The van gathered speed and drove away down the road. "Nice stunt." Grimmjow said breathlessly and Ulquiorra just slumped in his seat, too tired to respond. However the howl of sirens jolted him out of his momentary stupor.

Up ahead, several police cars were driving their way. They stopped up ahead and Grimmjow saw Ichigo Kurosaki step out and yell into a microphone. "Get out of the vehicle and surrender or we will open fire on you!"

Grimmjow swore but didn't stop the car and instead increased speed and just as it appeared he was planning to ram them, he swerved left and drove away down the street.

Ichigo swore and leaped back into his car and stomped on the gas and beside him, Renji readied his weapon. "We shoulda just opened fire on him in the_ first_ place! He better not get away!" he said frustrated. Ichigo put on a burst of speed and drove after Grimmjow.

Grimmjow looked in the rear view mirror and snarled in frustration. "Little shits!" he spat and he pointed his pistol out the window as a police vehicle swerved into view. Grimmjow retracted his weapon and swerved into the next lane as the cop opened fire at his tires.

"Ulquiorra, shoot their tires!" Grimmjow barked and Ulquiorra leaned carefully out the window and was instantly confused as to how to aim. Grimmjow called, "Look for the crosshair!" and bullets were fired at his car and he scowled when the cars in front of him weren't moving fast enough and blared his horn.

Ulquiorra blindly fired and winced as the jolt traveled through his fingertips. The bullet pierced the cop's windshield and Ulquiorra scowled and Grimmjow yelled, "The hell's taking so long?!"

Grimmjow put on a burst of speed and rammed the cars in front of him and that got them driving much faster and some even pulled over to get out of the way as more gunshots rang behind them.

In the car behind them, Ichigo drew his pistol and fired at the last tire on the right of Grimmjow's van. Grimmjow swore and pointed his gun out the window and fired at Ichigo's windshield just as more bullets began piercing the van. "Ulquiorra!" Grimmjow barked and Ulquiorra suddenly realized what he was doing wrong and took aim and fired at Ichigo's car tire as Ichigo came into view.

Behind them, more of the police cars were coming into view, swerving out around the other cars. The cops inside opened fire on their van and Grimmjow knew that they needed to get out of here. He instantly swerved into the next street. His car was going so fast, he left tire tracks in the ground and smoke behind him.

He took off down the road and as Ichigo's car came into sight, Grimmjow fired at the tires and missed. Ichigo stamped on the gas and drove right up behind Grimmjow's car and rammed it! Grimmjow was thrown forward into the dashboard with a yelp and Ulquiorra was too.

Ulquiorra leaned out the window and fired at Ichigo's tires and one of them burst. Ichigo swore as their speed was lessened but put his foot on the gas and increased speed, determined not to let them slip when it occurred to him that it wasn't Grimmjow who fired. "Ulquiorra…" he whispered in realization. Renji leaned out and took aim at their car and Grimmjow suddenly swerved into the next street and Ichigo rammed on the brakes and his car slid a good few feet onto the sidewalk, throwing garbage cans across the street and even knocking over a lamppost.

Ichigo violently turned the wheel as their car slid and the instant they were positioned, he hit the gas and tore away down the street after him, the flat tire slowing their progress. In his mirror, Ichigo saw the rest of the squad of cars appear behind him. "We'll get him. There's no way we won't!" Ichigo exclaimed and Renji prepared to fire at Grimmjow's tires when suddenly, he gun was shot out of his hand by Grimmjow as the man leaned over Ulquiorra and fired out the window at him.

Ulquiorra said sharply, "Watch it!" And Grimmjow's eyes were back on the road in time to see that he was about to crash into a building. He swerved and braked and missed the collision but lost a majority of speed and the car was slow in recovering it.

Unfortunately Ichigo used this as an opportunity and gained speed until he was licking at his heels, the hood of his car drove right up to the rear of Grimmjow's and Ichigo turned the wheel and rammed into the side of Grimmjow's car. Grimmjow was thrown to the side and he yelled in frustration and when he recovered, fired at Ichigo's car and the bullet hit the windshield right where Ichigo's face was, the broken glass making it hard to see.

Another police car appeared around the corner behind them and gained speed fast and slammed into the side of his car. Grimmjow steered left into another street and Ulquiorra fired at the cop's tires and it burst right as turning and the car swerved and crashed into a building.

Ulquiorra's eyes widened at the realization of what he done but he relaxed a little as the cops stepped out of the wrecked car, unhurt. And then three more cars were on them. "Shit! We can't do this much longer! Where are these guys coming from?" Grimmjow yelled.

They didn't have to worry.

Ichigo suddenly heard bullets hit the back of his car and with a gasp; he turned around and saw at least ten black vans pursuing him! "Who the hell—?!" he began but then he realized. They were the Yakuza and they were as determined to get at Grimmjow as he was.

One of the black vans drove around the other cars in its lane by quickly veering into the next lane and then barely dodging the speeding truck heading at it. The van was now closer to the cop car to its left and it drove out to the side momentarily and then slammed into the car and sent it flying to the right and smashing into a building.

Ichigo saw a man lean out the side and pull out a large machine gun and open fire on the police car in front of it and killed the driver when he attempted to shoot at them through the window.

They weren't using pistols. These men were using machine guns and were not aiming to bust any tires. They were there to kill every single officer that stood in the way of their target. Ichigo pointed his gun out the window and fired at one of the gunmen leaning out the window, busy shooting at the police car to the left. Ichigo missed and ducked back inside to dodge the spray of bullets when the gunman turned on him.

A few feet down, a van drove up to the side of a police car and the doors in the back opened and the men inside lifted their machine guns and fired at the car, killing the drivers. The driverless car kept going straight and drove into oncoming traffic, hurtling into a speeding car and nearly toppling it clean over.

Ichigo leaned out the window and took aim at the black van behind them but before he could aim, the back of his car was rammed and he was steered right off the road before he even knew what was happening! His car smashed into the front of a store and he braked before he could do anymore damage and watched the police cars and the black vans speed by him. Ichigo jumped out and lifted his pistol and fired at one of the vans and leaped out of the way as they fired back.

And they were out of sight within moments.

* * *

Up ahead, Grimmjow steered out around a corner and nearly got plowed into by a truck and hit the gas to go faster. Behind them, a police car came screeching around the corner and smashed into the building across from it as the black vans rounded the corner. Ulquiorra leaned out the window and shot at the tires.

To their right, a van swerved into the lane next to them and rammed into their car! The window behind them shattered and Grimmjow and Ulquiorra ducked as bullets hit the window in front of them. Grimmjow whipped his pistol out and fired into the windshield of the van behind them.

The glass shattered and the driver was killed but that didn't stop his passenger from pointing his machine gun at their car. Grimmjow attempted to fire but the back of their car was rammed and his gun nearly slipped from his hand! Ulquiorra shot at the tires of the van behind them but the van disappeared from sight and moved into the next lane and began flanking them with another van in the lane to the left. Grimmjow braked suddenly, decreasing speed and was now neck and neck with the van next to him. Grimmjow shot the driver in the face and the van collided head on with a truck and was sent tumbling away down the street.

"Ha!" and a van drove up onto the side walk and they both had to duck as he fired into the front seat! When Grimmjow looked up, he had to turn violently into the next street to avoid crashing into a car! He hastily steered back into the right lane and when he looked up, realized he was heading towards a highway. He would lose them in the traffic.

And just before he could cross onto the highway, a van drove out around the corner at the fastest speed it would go and slammed into the rear of their car and sent them sliding to the left and into the wrong lane! Car after car seemed to hit their vehicle as cars collided into one another until suddenly; they were thrown over the cement railing and fell to the ground below, the van landing on its side.

The fall wasn't great, but it was still quite an impact. The van smashed to the ground below, denting its doors and shattering its windows. Grimmjow opened his eyes and found that he was lying sideways, kept in his seat by his seat belt. He could feel blood running down across his forehead but otherwise, he was uninjured.

"Ulquiorra, you alive?" Grimmjow asked and Ulquiorra replied, "Somehow." And Ulquiorra unbuckled his seatbelt and placed his feet on the arm of his chair and began to heave himself out the window. He climbed out of the car and carefully lowered himself to the ground and hurried underneath the highway in case any of their attackers were to lean over the railing. Grimmjow pulled himself out and hurried to join him.

Just as he got under the highway, a gunshot exploded above their heads, the bullet hit the ground where he had been running only moments ago. "Where to?" Ulquiorra said and Grimmjow said, looking around towards the factories off in the distance. "Doesn't matter! Move!" and Ulquiorra and Grimmjow ran out from under the highway and towards the closest building, gunshots hit the dirt in front of them and they ended up racing behind a small shack.

Grimmjow leaned against the wall of the shack and pointed his gun around the corner but before he could take aim, one of the men popped up behind the cement railing on the highway and fired at him! Grimmjow hastily ducked his head back behind the old building, feeling the bullet hit the wall beside his head, and looked around to try and find the closest place to run to. There was none, all the factories were too far away and there was nothing they could use to advance their cover.

"Shit, our cover ends here. We have to move and fast!" Grimmjow hissed and as he attempted to run past the building, his feet were shot at and he ducked back behind after quickly firing at their attackers but missing since they were already behind cover. Judging by the shots and how much closer they were, Grimmjow knew that they were right behind the highway rather than on it.

"What are they keeping us here for?" Ulquiorra questioned.

His question was answered immediately.

Without any warning, a man flung himself out from around the corner, ramming in to Ulquiorra and knocking him clean over! Grimmjow attempted to push the man away but he was punched in the stomach and thrown to the floor, his gun was kicked from his hand and he felt a hand around his neck. Grimmjow was lifted from the ground by the neck and he began to struggle to free himself but this man was a hundred percent more muscle than he was. The man slammed him into a window, smashing the glass and then he pulled back Grimmjow's head and began pushing his neck towards a large shard of glass still in the window.

Grimmjow's heart began to race and he began pushing back against his attacker, his hands pressing up against the wall to try and push himself away but quickly found his arms beginning to weaken from the strain. He felt the man knee him in the back, pushing his body up against the building and keeping him pinned there while his attacker's hand tangled in his hair and started to push his head down. A this rate, the glass would go right into his throat!

Grimmjow struggled and pushed back as hard as he could but the man above him was stronger. He could only watch as his exposed neck was brought closer to that large shard of glass. _Ah fuck…I'm gonna die. I'm gonna—, _And there was loud_ bang_ behind him and his attacker suddenly stopped pushing against him. Grimmjow felt the man's weight threaten to fall atop him and he instantly ducked beneath him and heaved him off onto the ground with a grunt.

Breathing shallowly, he turned around and found Ulquiorra on his feet and lowering his gun, his eyes were wide open and Grimmjow could see shock beginning to show on his face. Grimmjow knew why. Grimmjow said, panting, "Hey, Ulquiorra,"

Ulquiorra shoved his gun in his back-pocket and simply stared at the floor, ignoring him and clearly in conflict about what he'd just done. Grimmjow wanted to say something but words weren't at hand. Ulquiorra looked over at the body and Grimmjow did, too. Ulquiorra had put a clean shot right into his head. "Let's go." Ulquiorra said, beginning to hurry away from the building and towards a large factory up ahead. Grimmjow followed, running even faster when he heard gunshots resound behind him. He turned around and fired at the cover the Yakuza members were hiding behind, he killed one as he emerged to shoot, but the others were still very much alive and would likely be advancing on them shortly.

They hurried around a corner of a massive factory plant and Grimmjow said, "I think we're good for now." And Ulquiorra leaned against the building, taking in a deep breath and frowning at the smell in the air from the black smoke billowing above their heads. He looked over at Ulquiorra and frowned. He didn't want him carrying around the idea that he had just killed someone. It had been self defense—and Grimmjow would be dead if it weren't for him.

Grimmjow chewed on the inside of his lips, considering it. He looked over at Ulquiorra and said, "For your first, that wasn't a bad shot."

Ulquiorra said, "I'll consider that a thank you."

"Good." Grimmjow said. He hadn't wanted to outright thank him. "And don't be dumb enough to think you just killed someone in cold blood. He'd have damn well killed me and then you without a moment's hesitation."

Ulquiorra just nodded and said, "Yes, I am well aware of that. Can we move?"

Grimmjow looked around and spotted an abandoned factory by the piers. "Yeah." He responded and he paused when he heard the sound of a vehicle driving through the area. "And fast." And they both hurried from their cover just as a large van moved slowly through the area, looking for them.

* * *

Ulquiorra lifted his foot and after a few kicks, kicked down the old door and looked inside. There was hardly any light inside, the only light came from the large holes in the ceiling, which birds took flight through as Grimmjow and Ulquiorra entered the building. Ulquiorra stepped over chips of wood and metal and seated himself on an old, grimy pipe, giving himself a moment to relax and take his weight off his feet.

Grimmjow sat beside him and rested his elbow over his knee, bowing his head. They were silent for a moment and Grimmjow said, "Your shot back there wasn't bad, but it could be better. Back in the car, you were a shit shooter." Ulquiorra gave a quiet grunt in response, taking the gun from his back pocket and setting it down beside him in order to sit more comfortably.

"Surprisingly it isn't easy to go from prosecuting criminals to attempting to shoot down moving targets." Ulquiorra said, somewhat defensively but not angrily, more with slight impatience at Grimmjow's lack of sensitivity towards his situation. But he had never expected him to be the type for sensitivity and receiving some now would rather concern him.

"Well unless you're blind, you can tell I have experience with weapons. You'll need proper training if you wanna make it."

"To where exactly?" Ulquiorra asked, wondering if they even had a plan.

Grimmjow answered, "To Japan."

"Why there?" Ulquiorra asked.

"Because that's where the leader of those thugs lives. No. I think I should call 'em by their actual name, you're bound to know it sooner or later anyway. They're the Yakuza." Grimmjow said and Ulquiorra felt something cold drop into his stomach, filling him with a feeling of morbid shock. He gave a sigh, unable to believe what he was hearing. "We have the Yakuza chasing us. What on Earth did you_ do_ to anger the Yakuza?" Ulquiorra asked. "Pissed of their fucking rat of a leader, that's what." Grimmjow growled, his tone dark and his eyes gazing ahead as if remembering something and by the look on his face, it was very unpleasant to him.

Ulquiorra asked, "You worked for him?" _Just how many more times does this man intend to surprise me?_

"Yeah." Grimmjow answered, his lip curling, "Slimy bastard…His name is Nnoitra Gilga. His gang is known as the Kamakiri family. Some fucking family..." he muttered. "I worked for him. I stole for him. But I sure as hell didn't do it because I really wanted to."

"I can't imagine how someone could talk you into doing something you wouldn't." Ulquiorra said, wanting more information.

Grimmjow said, "Oh he didn't. I joined up with him of my own accord. I'd have been crazy not to at the time. We met when when I was twenty. I had my own crew at the time, a gang of three others. We stole what we needed to get by-as well as a few extras. I was honestly pretty content with that way of living, but I knew it would never be enough to get me where I needed. I was just wasting time. We were in the process of robbing a grocery store when I ran into him. He had targeted that same store and didn't like that I was messing with his job. He attempted to have me killed so I defended myself and when he saw how good a fighter I was, he called 'em off. I should have walked away the _instant _he tried to kill me," Grimmjow muttered, shaking his head and clenching his teeth in annoyance. "Christ I was so fuckin' stupid then."

"...Anyway, Gilga was impressed with my skills and rather than kill me, offered me a place in his gang. I couldn't say no. Not because I liked any of them in particular or because it made me proud to steal; but because I wanted a lot more than to leave the country and start anew. I wanted to get a career in wrestling; it was my dream and my reason for trying to provide a better life for myself. Even if I couldn't have the life all the other kids my age had, I would do my best to give myself the same things they had; education, food, shelter, all that stuff. I tried getting work in Japan but no one trusted me enough, kinda hard to get work with a history like mine and my parents didn't make things any better. They were complete wrecks. And on top of it all, no one thought I was "properly educated" because I didn't go to fuckin' school." he added, making Ulquiorra's brow furrow.

Ulquiorra wondered if that was why Grimmjow was so upset when Ulquiorra had said all those things to him the night he told Grimmjow he wasn't welcome. Because when Ulquiorra looked down on him the way he had (claiming he was shallow and empty), Grimmjow was reminded of when everyone judged him based on his father's behavior and the way he grew up before they even got to know him better. If that truly _was_ the reason, then Ulquiorra actually felt even more guilty. Because in all actuality, Grimmjow was proving to him more and more that he wasn't the person Ulquiorra (and the police) thought he was. _I feel foolish now. And strangely enough, we aren't that different. At least, the situations with our families aren't. By the sounds of it, he grew up alone. The very way I did...if not even more so. At least I had a proper home. By the sounds of it, he didn't._

"Hey, are you listening?" Grimmjow's voice barked. "Of course," Ulquiorra replied, draping an elbow over his knee. He hadn't realized just how much his mind had wandered. "Continue."

"Didn't look like it…" Grimmjow muttered.

Grimmjow continued, "I _couldn't _say no to an offer like that. I knew that if I worked with him, I have enough money to move to America and start completely over. I said yes and the next day I went to meet him at his place. I wasn't impressed by the shithole they lived in at _all_, nearly made me regret saying yes. They don't still live there now, but they used to all hang out in an old sewer passage the city didn't use anymore. It was fucking disgusting but I didn't complain. I went to Nnoitra for work and he told me that he wanted me to be his cat burglar. Now, I was kind of surprised by that. The Yakuza don't do theft. I learned later on that Nnoitra's family has strayed from the traditional ways of working since the death of his father, the previous leader. Nnoitra took over and apparently decided to do everything his father "did wrong" and made it more hardcore, letting us steal and commit various street crimes. He lost a lot of people because of that. But he also gained a lot of people, real dangerous people. I guess that was the crowd he was aiming for. He didn't want to be known for his honor, he wanted to be feared. Can't say i blame him too much. What's the point in honor amongst a bunch of gangsters?"

"Anyway, I had had a lot of experience with robbing but I really wasn't into it. Don't get me wrong it felt satisfying but it also felt cowardly as hell. I'll take a good fight over sneaking around any other day. It's more fun. But it was an area I was comfortable with, so I took the job. He told me he'd pay me good for it. Bullshit. What I stole was worth a hell of a lot more than what he paid me. He told me—always with that _stupid_ smirk—that my pay would get better eventually. I didn't trust him but I agreed to work more. I was an idiot and I _sound_ like a damn idiot, but I was fucking _desperate_, Ulquiorra. No one in the city was giving me a chance because of my background. I had no other options. And he knew that. And I am sure as hell he laughed at me every time I left for a job."

Grimmjow breathed an annoyed sigh and said, "Anyway, the years flew by. My pay got steadily better but not by much. We moved to a warehouse downtown near the city, kicked out all the homeless guys living in it and shaped the place up a bit, Nnoitra bought all this fancy furniture that must have cost a fortune at least and when he was done, that old warehouse looked like a palace and business was booming. Nnoitra didn't come by too often. He has a business office in the city where he works during the day so he could only ever come around at nightfall. Didn't affect the business though, Nnoitra's "family" became one of the most successful crime syndicates in the city. I wasn't happy though. I was pissed. It had been years since I started working with them. Nnoitra was getting more and more power hungry and demanding towards his gang, he paid them less and received more from our clients and the rest of his "family"."

"Why didn't everyone leave? There seems like little point in staying." Ulquiorra asked, not seeing why they stuck around. "Its not that simple, alright? Once you're in, you're in for life. You can't just leave, Ulquiorra." Grimmjow said impatiently. Ulquiorra asked, "Then what made you leave?"

"I got sick of it. The only reason I stayed with that group of dickheads is because for the first time in a long while, I had purpose. But eventually, I got sick of everyone there, I got sick of myself and how pathetic I was becoming. I'd worked with the Yakuza for six years, I'd made at least a thousand dollars dealing drugs, stealing, all that great shit. But the apartment I wanted in America cost more than that. I knew that the time had come to move on and that staying here wouldn't benefit me anymore. I wanted change and I wanted it fast. So I did something pretty risky. I crept into Nnoitra's room while he slept and picked his pocket. I took his wallet off him and headed to the bank and managed to crack the code in his bank account. I transferred all the money on it to my account and left as soon as I could. I knew I had only a little amount of time left before Nnoitra caught on and so I booked a room at a hotel and used the computer to buy the apartment I'd always wanted and made plans to get on the first plane out of Japan. I woke up with a gun in my face. Nnoitra's right hand man, Tesla had seen me leave and had brought Nnoitra down to to see me. I fought them off well enough, kicked Nnoitra's ass pretty good, too. Should have just killed him but I didn't wanted to leave the country without being hounded by the police for murder." he chuckled bitterly "...Like that made any difference. It's almost funny, considering all that happened next. After that, he sent a couple of his best men after me, but I took them down easily enough. I thought getting away would be a cinch. I was fucking wrong."

Grimmjow breathed a sigh and said, "I didn't anticipate the police getting involved. Two hours after I left the hotel, I was tracked by the police, yelling something at me about being under arrest. I knew something was up. All the years I'd worked with the Yakuza, I'd never been caught. How the hell did these guys suddenly know about me? I didn't stop to think and bolted for it. I managed to give them the slip and got a call from the guys I used to hang with. I asked him just what the hell was going on. I thought Nnoitra had gotten really desperate and had tipped me off for theft to the cops. I wasn't too far off, really. You know what he told me? He told me that Nnoitra freaked out and thought I had gotten too big an idea of myself and that I'd give away their location and their plans. And so Nnoitra did the worst fucking thing he could to try and catch me. He had someone dress like me, rob a store and purposefully get caught. The owners called it in and afterwards they were found dead! The bastard framed me for murder! Instead of coming to face me himself, he stabbed me in the fucking back!" Grimmjow vented. His anger faded and he seemed tired suddenly.

He said, pure bitterness in his voice, "I wanted to go back and throttle him. But I knew that was what he wanted. I had to get out of the country, his men were after me, the police were after me, I'd be dead to stay there. I arranged a meetup with the people I could trust in the family and they were awesome and made up a plan to smuggle me outta the country. They also kindly informed me that Nnoitra had hacked into my account and took everything out of it which meant I was going into a new country with next to nothing. They were decent enough to loan me some money, though. Didn't fix a thing. I thought coming here would make things better. I was fucking wrong and I was an idiot to think other wise. And that's the end of my story. A cheerful one, ain't it?"

He was silent and Ulquiorra figured he'd told him all he needed to know. "Interestingly enough, I had begun to doubt you were a murderer after we escaped the group that attacked my house. You don't seem the killing type to me, at least not when it comes to innocents." Ulquiorra said and Grimmjow looked over at him, surprise in his eyes. He said bitterly, "Good for you. Good luck convincing the cops I'm not an axe-crazy psychopath though. This is fucking funny, isn't it? That fucker Nnoitra's not even _here_ and he's taken everything from me..." He snarled, his fists beginning to clench. "The job I wanted is gone. The place I wanted to be my home is_ gone_. _Everything_ I worked for is fucking _gone! _And meanwhile, he has everything! He's back and Japan in his massive business office, getting fat off his money, chomping down cigars! And what do I have? Nothing! because of him!" he roared, jumping to his feet and kicking a large plank of wood across the room into the wall.

The bang resounded through the room, echoing around the walls. Grimmjow hissed in pain and Ulquiorra realized he may have kicked it much harder than he meant to. Grimmjow got down on a bent knee seemingly to inspect the injury but instead gave a bitter curse and hung his head, a deep, shaken sigh of defeat escaping him. Ulquiorra found himself feeling unsettled by this momentary and uncharacteristic display of weakness from him and he wondered if he was actually crying. The idea didn't sit well with him for some reason. He had only known him a few days but he was in a way, use to the brash, uncaring Grimmjow. Seeing him like this made him feel like he was intruding on something private, a weakness from Grimmjow he wasn't supposed to see. He spoke quietly, "In that case, you and I are not so different. Because of Nnoitra, my life is gone as well. I was tempted to blame you at first, but now I see where the real blame should go. He's taken everything from both of us. How poetic."

Grimmjow stood slowly to his feet and said, turning around to face him, his face dry much to Ulquiorra's strange relief, "And he is going to suffer for it. I'm sick of running like some spineless coward from him!" And a dangerous gleam came into Grimmjow's eyes and he said, "And I'm gonna kill him. You asked me what our next move is. I know now. There's only _one_ way to get the Kamakiris off of us. And that's by taking the head off its leader! Nnoitra wants me dead. Nothing is going to change his mind or make him forget about what I did. I stole from him and got away with it. He cannot, fucking, _stand_ that. He wants me dead and he will hunt me to the edge of the earth. He'll hunt _us _to the edge of the earth. I'll _never_ have my life because of him. He needs to die. And I'll be fucking _glad_ to do it!" Grimmjow snarled, his teeth bared.

Ulquiorra knew he was dead serious. _He's right. Neither of us will ever have our lives back unless this Nnoitra is dead. _But there was a flaw in Grimmjow's plan and that was that he wanted Nnoitra to die. If Nnoitra died, nothing would change. Grimmjow would still be viewed as a murderer.

"You do realize that if Nnoitra dies, nothing will change, don't you?" Ulquiorra asked and Grimmjow tensed, not liking that Ulquiorra was questioning him in the angered state he was in. "The fuck do you mean? He needs to die, there's no other—!"

Ulquiorra said, "His death will change nothing for you. You will still be hunted by the police both in Japan and America for years until they decide to drop it. The life you have set up here you will never have if you kill him."

"Oh so what do _you_ suggest I do, huh?" Grimmjow asked impatiently.

Ulquiorra hesitated. He couldn't believe he was suggesting this. Because wherever Grimmjow went now, he had to go. If Grimmjow agreed to what he said next, Ulquiorra would be dragged into this along with him. If he thought things were dangerous now…he was dead wrong.

But Ulquiorra said it anyway. He knew Grimmjow was right. Unless Nnoitra was dealt with, their lives would never be the same. "I suggest that we bring him in alive to account for his actions before the Supreme Court."

Grimmjow's mouth slipped open a little and he gaped at him. "That's the stupidest—!" he began angrily, "On the contrary, it is actually a much better idea than the one you have. It doesn't involve the violence that you want, but I can guarantee it will be much better for the both of us. If we kill him, nothing good will come from it. No one alive will be able to prove your innocence except the one who set it up. And he can't do that if he is dead, can he?"

Ulquiorra waited, watching Grimmjow quickly think it over. "Not bad," Grimmjow admitted. "But you don't know who you're talking about. Nnoitra would rather die than surrender. It would be like pulling teeth to get him to admit anything-but I'd be more than happy to be the one to pull 'em." He added. "Is that a yes?" Ulquiorra asked, surprised he was agreeing so quickly.

Grimmjow said, "I think it a stupid idea. You don't know him like I do. He'll _never _give up any information. He'd rather die. But, if you need the muscle, I'll gladly drag his ass to court—_if_ you'll prosecute him for me. But how can you guarantee I'll get off my charges? You can't, can you?" he asked skeptically. Ulquiorra said, "There is no guarantee you won't go to jail. But, if you'll drag him to court, I'll do my absolute best to ensure you can leave the trial and head to your job immediately afterwards."

Grimmjow grinned toothily down at him. That grin lit a flame inside Ulquiorra; it sent a tingling through his stomach and a racing in his chest. It must have been excitement. He was as excited at the prospect of all the danger that was bound to transpire as much he was worried about it.

_I cannot believe I'm doing this._

"Now you're talking, Ulqui." Grimmjow said his voice low and full of excitement. Ulquiorra stood to his feet and said, "Do we have a deal?" Grimmjow cackled excitedly, his grin widening and lighting up his eyes. "You bet your _ass_ we do!" And Grimmjow extended a large, tanned hand. "Just don't you dare chicken out on me, got it?" And it was the challenge in Grimmjow's eyes that made Ulquiorra instantly reply, "If you don't, then neither will I." Ulquiorra looked down at the hand extended to him and took it, shaking it. "To Japan, then?" Ulquiorra questioned. Grimmjow replied firmly, "To Japan-but first, we _gotta_ teach you how to fucking shoot. Aside from that guy you killed, you're a fuckin terrible shot." He added, making Ulquiorra frown as the moment as killed.

* * *

Ichigo sat in his father's office, staring up at the television where the news was broadcasting the car chase that left several innocent civilians dead in the streets and several police officers dead or hospitalized. He gave a bitter sigh. Grimmjow was barely a problem anymore. Now they had the Japanese mafia on their hands and not only the mafia, but the biggest crime family in Japan; the Kamakiris.

They had to answer for the slaughter and destruction they had caused in the streets. Isshin knew this too. The man was outside talking to Renji's nurse to see how his condition was. Ichigo paused his thinking and listened intently. Renji had been very badly hurt in the fight today and so had many other officers. Ichigo's fist clenched. "Those bastards…" he whispered. His fist lightly hit the arm of the chair and he let his head fall back against the armchair he lay in, breathing out a frustrated sigh through his nose.

He had been helpless to stop any of it.

But he wouldn't be again.

Isshin entered his office and said, "Hey, no need to worry. Renji's going to be fine."

"What about the others?" Ichigo asked, thinking of the other officers at the hospital. Ten of them were hospitalized in critical condition, the rest of the squad sent out were dead. Isshin bit his lip. "They aren't doing too good…This is awful." Isshin whispered, sitting down on the sofa with his head in his hands. "I sent out that patrol…"

"You weren't responsible." Ichigo argued. "I am absolutely responsible for the injuries of those men in the hospital and the ones in the morgue."

"I was there and I couldn't even do anything!" Ichigo snapped.

"At least you didn't send good men to their deaths. What the hell were those Yakuza doing in America?" Isshin asked, frustrated.

"I don't know, but it has something to do with Grimmjow. And Grimmjow is my responsibility," Ichigo said determinedly, "Dad, I'm going back to Japan. That gang needs to answer for the lives they took and the damage they caused today. Not only our officers were injured, civilians were killed today for being in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"You are _not _going to meddle with the Yakuza!" Isshin argued his tone firm.

"Yes I am." Ichigo said insistently. "They wouldn't have been there if it weren't for Grimmjow, and _I'm_ the one who let him escape Japan."

"You were not responsible for that either!" Isshin exclaimed.

"I still let him escape. I need to fix what I fucked up, dad. I'll never be able to forgive myself otherwise. I'm going to Japan in the morning. Those men _will _answer for the slaughters they committed today." Ichigo said.

Isshin could see there was no shaking him. He couldn't go with him. He was needed here. Isshin sighed and said angrily, "Your stubbornness will get you killed one day, Ichigo. Fine. There's no stopping you. But you had better watch yourself out there, understood?"

"I will." Ichigo said firmly and with a sigh, Isshin turned and headed outside, leaving Ichigo to watch scenes of the car chase from today on the television screen.

The Kamakiri and Grimmjow would_ both _answer for what they did.

And if his suspicions were right about Ulquiorra, then so would he.

* * *

Author's notes; and so another chapter ends! I am quite pleased with this one. Things are really heating up! I am not too sure about how the Yakuza name their groups though. :/ I am not sure if they go with the last name of their boss or the name of the city they reside in. Oh well. Kamakiri is a cool name since it means praying mantis and all, which is what Nnoitra's release form resembles. I also read that they follow codes and are organized...Nnoitra's gang isn't (lol) and he probably wouldn't run a very organized group anyway.

I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Till next time!


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